M.    &    G.    B.     HOPE. 


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PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


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BX  9225  .K6  B6  1867 
Blackburn,  Wm.  M.  1828-1898, 

The  Kirkpatrick  memorial 


§. 


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THE 

KIMPATmCK  MEMORIAL; 


OR. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  FATHER  AND  SON, 


AND  A  SELECTION  FROM  THE 


SERMONS 


OF  THE 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  JR., 


THE   SKETCHES    BY    THE 

Key.  GEOEGE    HALE,  D.D. 


EDITED    BY   THE 

Eev.  wm.  m.  blackbuen. 


PHILADELPHIA : 
WESTCOTT    &    THOMSON 

1867. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

ELIAS    COOK, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


Westcott    &    Thomson, 
Stereotypers,  Philada. 


THE    EDITOR'S    PREFACE. 


The  present  memorial  volume  is  not  the  result  of  a 
sudden  thought.  It  has  a  history.  Declining  health  in- 
duced the  Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  Jr.,  to  resign,  in 
1857,  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church,  Trenton,  N.  J.  Both  pastor  and  people  saw  no 
hope  of  his  recovery.  Many  of  his  friends,  sorrowing 
that  they  should  hear  his  voice  no  more  in  the  pulpit, 
felt  that  it  would  be  a  consolation,  if  he  might  still  preach 
to  them  through  the  press.  They  requested  the  privi- 
lege  of  pubhshing  a  small  volume  of  his  sermons.  He 
modestly  declined,  shrinking,  as  he  had  ever  done,  from 
publicity. 

In  now  publishing  a  few  of  his  sermons,  no  violence  is 
done  to  his  last  wishes.  It  is  true,  that  while  lingering 
at  his  father's  house,  waiting  for  the  Heavenly  call,  he 
requested  that  his  manuscripts  might  be  burned.  But 
his  father  interposed.  At  length  he  consented,  saying, 
in  effect,  to  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  "You  can  do  with  them  as 


4  THE  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

you  think  best.     Let  them  be  used  in  any  way,  in  which 
they  may  do  good. ' ' 

Soon  after  his  decease  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  sent 
the  manuscripts  to  a  friend  to  be  at  his  disposal.  This 
the  father  would  never  have  done,  had  not  the  fullest 
consent  been  given  by  his  son,  whom  he  so  ardently 
loved,  and  whose  dying  wishes  were  regarded  with  pro- 
found sacredness.  Various  events  providentially  delayed 
the  publication  of  the  intended  volume.  The  idea  was 
quite  abandoned  until,  in  May,  1866,  Dr.  Kirkpatrick 
was  called  to  his  rest.  It  was  then  thought  that  a  memo- 
rial should  be  published,  of  these  two  beloved  ministers, 
whose  loss  was  widely  felt  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
After  due  consultation  it  was  resolved  to  publish  a  me- 
morial on  the  present  plan. 

The  editor  was  requested  to  supervise  the  work,  and 
the  Rev.  George  Hale,  D.  D.,  of  Pennington,  N.  J.,  to 
prepare  the  biographical  sketches,  to  which  he  appropri- 
ately gives  his  own  preface.  To  the  many  friends  who 
have  aided  him  the  editor  offers  his  thanks. 

In  the  editor's  hands  were  placed  more  than  two  hun- 
dred manuscripts  of  sermons  and  lectures;  some  of  them 
mere  outlines,  some  half  written,  with  wide  blanks  to  be 
filled  up  at  a  future  day,  and  others  quite  complete. 
Very  few  of  them  present  a  fully  written  peroration.     In 


THE  EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  .  5 

making  his  appeals,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  was  usually  guided 
by  a  few  catch-words,  or  phrases,  many  of  which  do  not 
now  reveal  what  was  in  his  mind. 

This  imperfection  in  the  manuscript  may  indicate  the 
perfection  of  his  study  and  his  preaching.     His  power  of 
extemporaneous  address  was  remarkable.     He  did  not 
sacrifice  it  in  the  pulpit.     How  many  of  his  most  elo- 
quent utterances  are  lost,  except  as  their  effect  remains 
upon  the  memories  and  the  souls  of  his  hearers !     Many 
persons  will  not  find,  in  this  collection,  the  sermons  they 
expected,  for  they  were  never  written  beyond  the  mere 
first  draft.     Such  were  the  discourses  on  "The  Wonder- 
ful, the  Counsellor,"  "The  Lamb  of  God,"  "The  Cruci- 
fied Saviour."     The  fact  that  his  sermons  upon  the  Di- 
vinity, the  hfe,  the  sufferings,  and  the  atonement  of 
Christ,  were  delivered  from  a  brief  outline,  may  be  taken 
as  a  proof. of  his  familiarity  with  the  great  themes  of 
gospel  theology.     On  no  other  subjects  did  he  appear  so 
free  in  the  resistless  march  of  his  thoughts. 

His  sermons  were  largely  of  an  awakening  character, 
rather  than  consolatory.  He  earnestly  sought  the  con- 
version of  sinners,  the  reclaiming  of  the  fallen,  the 
arousing  of  the  Church,  and  the  reviving  of  the  spiritual 
life  in  the  hearts  of  God's  people.  The  published  speci- 
mens are  to  be  read  as  the  sermons  of  a  young  pastor,  in 
1  * 


6  TBJs  editoh's  preface. 

tlie  regular  course  of  his  preaching.  They  were  not  pre- 
pared for  special  occasions.  They  have  been  selected 
from  the  mass,  on  the  plan  of  furnishing  the  best  speci- 
mens of  different  years,  the  most  practical,  and  the  most 
varied  in  their  style  and  thought. 

None  of  the  sermons  bore  a  title.  The  editor  has 
endeavored  to  supply  this  want.  He  has  been  scrupu- 
lously careful  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  what  was 
written.  The  portraits  have  been  engraved  by  an  emi- 
nent artist  from  photographs,  representing  the  deceased 
as  they  appeared  in  their  more  vigorous  days. 

The  largest  credit,  for  the  successful  publication  of  the 
work,  is  due  to  Elias  Cook,  Esq. ,  of  Trenton,  N.  J. ,  the 
guardian  of  the  only  and  orphan  child  of  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Kirkpatrick,  Jr.  He  assumed  the  entire  pecuniary  re- 
sponsibility, sparing  no  pains  to  make  it  a  fitting  memo- 
rial of  the  departed;  one  of  whom  was  to  him  as  a 
paternal  counsellor,  and  the  other  a  beloved  pastor. 

If  the  reading  of  these  biographical  sketches  shall  lead 
any  to  embalm  the  names  of  the  commemorated  dead, 
by  imitating  their  Christian  example,  and  if  the  medita- 
tion of  these  sermons  shall  be  blessed  of  God  to  any,  who 
mourned  when  the  voice  of  the  preacher  was  silenced  by 
death,  happy  will  be  the  reward  of  those  to  whom  its 
preparation  has  been  a  labor  of  love. 


CONTENTS. 


FA6E 
PREFACE  BY  THE  EDITOR „ „.  3 

PREFACE  BY  THE  BIOGRAPHER 11 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

I.  THE  KIRKPATRICK  FAMILY 13 

II.  THE  REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  D.  D. 83 

III.  THE  REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  Jb -..- 78 

SERMONS. 

I.  GOD'S  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.- „.... 128 

n.  MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT. 141 

in.  OPPORTUNITIES  LOST 160 

IV.  THE  HUMAN  LEVEL ..„. 177 

V.  THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW „ 195 

VL  DO  YE  NOW  BELIEVE? ...„ 214 

7- 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAOS 
Vn.  THE  SETERE  DENIAL  OF  SELF. 234 

VIIL  LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA 251 

IX.  THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER 270 

X.  THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION 288 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 


PREFACE. 


The  necessity  for  the  early  appearance  of  this  volume 
denies  to  the  writer  of  these  sketches  the  power  to  follow 
the  advice  which  the  poet  Horace  gives  to  the  author  of 
a  book — '^Prematur  nonum  in  annum.''  With  an  abler 
hand  and  a  longer  time  to  collect  and  verify  facts,  this 
part  of  the  volume  would  have  been  more  nearly  com- 
plete and  therefore  more  satisfactory;  but  it  is  sent  forth 
as  it  is,  in  the  hope  that  some  things  stated  may  prove 
gratifying  to  the  numerous  friends  of  this  excellent 
father  and  his  most  worthy  son. 

The  compiler  takes  this  method  of  expressing  his 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  the  Hon.  Andrew  B.  Cobb, 
of  Parsippany,  William  Annin,  Esq.,  of  Liberty  Corner, 
the  Hon.  H.  N.  Congar,  Secretary  of  State  for  New 
Jersey,  and  other  friends,  too  numerous  to  be  named 
here,  for  the  facilities  they  have  afforded  him,  and  the 
information  they  have  imparted. 

PENNiNaroN,  Nov.  14,  1866.  Q-,  Jf. 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 


I. 

THE  KIUKPATRICK  FAMIIjY. 

ri'^HE  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  the  May  Flower,  who 
-*-  landed  at  Plymouth  in  1620,  with  those  who 
shortly  afterwards  fled  to  New  England  from  the 
persecutions  of  the  Old  World,  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  this  great  nation.  Their  work,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  will  abide;  and  the  record  of 
what  they  have  done  must  make  up  an  essential 
part  of  our  national  history,  not  soon  to  be  blotted 
out.  But  there  were  others,  holding  the  same 
Calvinistic  creed,  inspired  with  the  same  Christian 
heroism,  and  animated  with  an  equally  ardent 
love  for  civil  and  Religious  liberty,  like  the  Pro- 
testant emigrants  from  Holland  and  the  Huguenot 
refugees  from  France,  who  have  rendered  material 

2  13 


14  KIEKPA THICK  MEMORIAL. 

aid  in  moulding  our  free  institutions.  Perhaps 
sufficient  credit  has  not  yet  been  given  to  the 
Presbyterian  emigrants  from  Scotland  and  the 
north  of  Ireland,  known  as  the  Scotch  and  Scotch- 
Irish,  for  the  powerful  influence  for  good  which 
they  have  exerted.  Well-trained  in  the  School 
and  Kirk  of  their  native  home,  familiar  from 
childhood  with  the  Bible  and  the  Catechisms  of 
the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  disciplined  by 
fierce  persecution  for  their  loyalty  to  the  crown 
and  covenant  of  King  Jesus,  they  have  not  only 
contributed  much  towards  giving  character  and 
stability  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  they 
have  ever  been  found  among  the  firmest  and  most 
intelligent  supporters  of  evangelical  religion, 
popular  education  and  good  government.  To 
mention  no  others,  how  familiar  among  us  have 
become  such  names  as  Tennent,  Witherspoon, 
Doak,  Nisbet,  Alexander,  Mason,  Wilson,  Brown 
and  McDowell.  • 

Of  this  class  of  our  citizens  were  many  of  the 
families  Avho,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  FAMILY.  15 

century    settled     near    Baskingridge,     Somerset 
county,  New  Jersey,  one  of  which  was 

THE  kiukpatmick  family. 

The  Hon.  Walter  Kirkpatrick,  a  cousin  of  the 
late  Dr.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  at  his  decease,  left  in 
his  own  hand  this  statement,  to  wit: 

"The  Kirkpatrick  family  possessed  estates  in 
Nithsdale,  [Scotland]  in  the  ninth  century.  The 
iirst  on  record  is  Ivone  Kirkpatrick  in  the  time 
of  David  I.  He  was  a  witness  to  a  C^harter  of 
Robert  Bruce.  He  had  a  grandson  Ivone  and 
from  him  descended  a  long  line  of  Lords  of  Close- 
burn.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  Gentleman  of 
the  Privy  Chamber  of  James  VI.,  obtained  a 
patent  of  Freedom  of  the  whole  kingdom.  He 
died  in  1628,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Thomas,  whose  grandson  Thomas  was  created 
Baronet  of  Nova  Scotia.  [This  order  was  founded 
by  James  I.  in  1611,  and  is  given  by  patent], 
March  26,  1686.  He  married  Isabella,  daughter 
of  Ijord  Torpischen ;  afterwards  he  married  Sarah, 


16  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

daughter  of  Robert  Furguson,  Esq.,  of  Craigda- 
rock,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  Hodger ;  and  thirdly, 
he  married  Grizzel,  daughter  of  Gain  Hamilton, 
Esq.,  of  Raplock.    >He  was  succeeded  by 

"II.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  who  married 
Isabel,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Lockhart,  of  Car- 
stairs,  and  was  succeeded  by 

"  III.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  who  married 
Susannah  Grierson,  of  Capuncet,  August  29, 
1748.  Fire  consumed  his  mansion,  family  papers, 
and  everything  except  the  tower.  He  died 
October,  1771,  and  was  succeeded  by 

"IV.  Sir  James  Kirkpatrick,  who  married 
Miss  Jaudine,  and  died  June  7,  1804,  and  was 
succeeded  by 

"  V.  Sir  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  the  present  Ba- 
ronet. 

THE  JKlBKPATItlCK  ARMS. 

or.  a  Sattier  and  chief  az. 

the  last  charger  witJi  3  cttshions  or. 

Crest,  a  hand  holding  a  dagger 

in  pale — distilling  drops  of  blood. 
Motto,  *  I  niahe  sure.' 
Seat,  Closebtirn's  ]>unifries,*' 


THE  KIRKPATUICK  FAMILY.  VJ 

The  name  of  the  immediate  ancestor  of  that 
branch  of  the  family  of  which  this  volume  is  a 
memorial   was  Alexander.     He  was   born   in 
Watties   Neach,   Dumfriesshire,    Scotland.      He 
removed  with  his  family  to  Belfast,  Ireland,  after 
the  birth  of  his  son  David,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  reign  of  George  I.  probably  about  the  year 
1725,  that  he  might  enjoy  greater  liberty  of  con- 
science and  additional  religious  advantages.     In 
the  spring  of  1736   he  embarked  at  Belfast  for 
America,  and  after  a  stormy  passage  of  thirteen 
weeks   landed   at   New   Castle,   Delaware.     The 
passengers  and  crew  were  almost  starved  owing 
to  the  unexpected  length  of  the  passage.     David, 
who  was  then  twelve  years  old,  speaking  of  this 
to  a  grandson  in  after  years  said  :    "  The  first 
thing  I  got  to  eat  after  we  got  on  shore  was  corn, 
in  the  state  which  we  call  roasting  ears,  and  with- 
out roasting  or  boiling  I  ate  it  till  the  milk  of  the 
corn  ran  down  both  sides  of  my  mouth,  and  I 
have    never    eaten    anything   since   that   tasted 
sweeter."     The  narrative  by  the  grandson  adds  : 

2* 


18  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

"  They  crossed  the  Delaware  at  Philadelphia,  and 
wandered  up  through  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
(which  was  partially  settled)  till  they  reached 
Boundbrook,  and  from  that  they  went  over  the 
mountain.  This  incident  he  (the  grandfather) 
used  to  tell  me,  and  smile  at — they  were  all  on 
foot — there  was  no  road  other  than  the  Indian 
path.  In  the  path  before  them  they  saw  a  land- 
tortoise,  speckled,  sticking  up  his  head ',  and  as 
they  had  heard  of  rattlesnakes,  they  thought  that 
'monster  must  be  one ;  so  they  turned  out  in  the 
woods  and  went  away  round  leaving  his  ^  torkle- 
ship'  in  full  possession  of  the  path.  When  they 
came  to  a  spring  of  water  at  the  side  of  what  has 
since  been  called  *  Mine  Brook,'  there  they  set- 
tled down,  built  a  log  house  and  went  to  work." 

The  spot  was  well  chosen,  about  two  miles  west 
from  the  present  site  of  Baskingridge  in  Somerset 
County,  New  Jersey.  It  embraced  the  southern 
slope  of  Round  Mountain  in  a  well- timbered 
region,  with  unfailing  springs  of  pure  water,  the 
rich  meadow-land  through  which    Mine   Brook 


THE  KtRKPATRICK  FAMILY.  ig 

runs  with  a  sufficient  fall  of  water  for  a  mill-seat, 
and  with  these  material  advantages,  a  charming 
picturesque  view  of  the  adjacent  region.  The 
spring  of  water  is  still  there,  marking  the  site  of 
the  original  log-house,  and  until  within  a  few 
years  could  be  seen  the  remains  of  the  apple-trees 
planted  by  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  and  his  sons. 
This  improvement  many  of  the  early  proprietary 
leases  required.  In  a  lease  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  acres,  (which  it  may  be  remarked 
was  a  minor  portion  of  what  the  family  eventu- 
ally obtained  by  title  in  fee  simple)  granted 
November  23,  1747,  to  Alexander  Kirkpatrick, 
he  agrees  "  to  plant  an  orchard  of  at  least  one 
apple-tree  for  every  three  acres,  and  in  case  this 
lease  shall  continue  beyond  three  years,  then  (to) 
plant  one  apple-tree  for  every  six  acres,  all 
regular  in  one  orchard,  and  to  keep  up  the  num- 
ber planted,  and  to  keep  the  orchard  in  good 
fence." 

Alexander  Kirkpatrick  died  at  Mine  Brook, 
June  3,  1758,  mentioning  in  his  will,  which  was 


20  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

executed  "  in  articulo  mortis/'  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
his  sons  Andrew,  David,  and  Alexander,  his  son- 
in-law  Duncan  McEowen,  his  youngest  daughter 
Mary,  and  his  grandson  Alexander. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  when  he  came  to 
America  with  his  family  he  was  accompanied  by 
his  brother  Andrew.  This  brother  Andrew  had 
two  sons,  John  and  David,  and  two  daughters, 
Martha,  wife  of  Joseph  Linn,  and  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  Stephen  Roy,  all  of  whom  removed  to  Sussex 
County,  and  there  remained. 

The  children  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth 
KiRKPATRiCK  were, 

1.  Andrew,  who  married  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Joseph  Gaston,  and  had  one  son,  Alexander, 
and  seven  daughters,  viz :  Jennet,  wife  of  Abner 
Johnson ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Hugh  Bartley ; 
Margaret,  wife  of  Joseph  McMartin;  Mary, 
Sarah,  Anne,  and  Hannah.  This  Andrew  in- 
herited the  homestead,  but  not  long  after  the 
death  of  his  father  sold  it  to  his  brother  David, 
and  removed  to  what  was  then  called  "  the  Red- 


THE  KIRKPATRIGK  FAMILY.  21 

stone  Countiy,"  or  in  other  words  to  Western 
Pennsylvania. 

2.  David,  who  married  Mary  McEowen,  sister 
of  Duncan,  Daniel,  and  Alexander  McEowen,  of 
whom  more  in  the  sequel. 

3.  Alexander,  who  married  Margaret  Ander- 
son, of  Boundbrook,  who  went  to  New  York  and 
married  there,  and  one  daughter,  Martha,  wife  of 
John  Stevenson,  then  of  Morristown,  afterwards 
of  New  York.  Alexander,  the  father,  was  a  sur- 
veyor, subsequently  a  merchant,  and  kept  a  store 
at  Peapack. 

4.  Jennet,  wife  of  Duncan  McEowen,  who  with 
their  family  removed  to  Maryland. 

5.  Mary,  wife  of  John  Bigger,  had  two  sons, 
John  and  David,  and  four  daughters,  Elizabeth, 
Anne,  Ruth  and  Mary.  They  removed  to  War- 
wick, [Orange  county,  N.  Y.,  or  Cecil  county, 
Md]. 

David,  the  son  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth 
Kirkpatrick,  was  born  at  Watties  Neach,  Dum- 
fries  Shire,   Scotland,    February    17,  1724,  and 


22  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

died  at  Mine  Brook,  March  19,  1814.  His  wife, 
Mary  3fcEoice7i,  was  born  in  Argyle  Shire,  Scot- 
land, August  1,  1728,  and  died  at  Mine  Brook, 
November  2,  1795. 

David  Kirkpatkick,  -Esqr.,  and  Mary 
McEowEN  were  married  March  31,  1748.  They 
had  four  sons  and  four  daughters. 

1.  Elizabeth,    born    September   27,    1749,   the 

wife  of Sloan,  mother  of  the  Rev.  William 

B.  Sloan,  for  several  years  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Greenwich,  Warren  county,  and 
grandmother  of  the  late  William  H.  Sloan,  Esq., 
of  Flemington.  She,  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Sloan,  married  General  William  Maxwell,  and 
died  in  1829. 

2.  Alexander  J  born  September  3,  1751,  died 
September  24,  1827.  He  was  the  father  of  the 
Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  D.D.,  of  Ringoes. 

3.  Hugh,  born  September  2,  1753,  died  Janu- 
ary 9,  1782,  unmarried. 

4.  Andi^eiv,  born  February  17,  1756,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  FAMILY.  23 

5.  David,  born  November  1^  1758. 

6.  Mary,  born  November  23,  1761,  married 
Hugh  Gaston,  of  Peapack,  and  had  one  son. 
After  Mr.  Gaston's  death,  she  married  a  Todd, 
and  died  July  1,  1842. 

7.  Ayme,  born  March  10,  1764,  married  Moses 
Esty,  of  Morristown. 

8.  Jennet,  born  July  9,  1769,  married  Dicken- 
son Miller,  of  Somerville,  and  had  six  sons. 

Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  third  son  of  David 
Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  and  Mary  McEowen,  was 
born  at  Mine  Brook ;  he  graduated  at  the  College 
of  New  Jersey,  in  1775,  while  Dr.  Witherspoon 
was  President;  he,  shortly  after  completing  his 
legal  studies,  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  law 
at  New  Brunswick,  where  he  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Colonel  John  Bayard.  Of  their 
children — (1)  the  Hon.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick, 
attorney-at-law,  graduated  at  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  in  1815,  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  at  Washington,  from  his  native 
state;    married,    but   no   children    survive   him. 


24  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

(2).  John  Bayard  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  graduated  at 
Queen's  (now  Rutger's)  College  in  1815;  was  for 
some  tim'e  connected  with  one  of  the  Departments 
at  Washington,  and  died,  leaving  two  sons  and 
two  daughters.  (3).  Mary  Ann,  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  B.  Howe,  D.D.,  for  some  time  pastor  of 
the  First  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church, 
New  Brunswick.  (4).  Jane,  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Cogswell,  D.D.,  formerly  Professor  of 
Ecclesiastical  History  in  the  East  Windsor  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  both  now  deceased,  leaving  one 
daughter. 

Andrew,  their  father,  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  in  1797, 
and  sat  with  that  body  during  the  first  session ; 
but  on  the  17th  of  January,  1798,  he  resigned 
his  seat,  having  accepted  the  office  of  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  state,  as  successor  to  the  Hon.  James 
Kinsey.  Chief  Justice  Kirkpatrick  was  for 
twenty  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  one  of 
the  original  Trustees  of  Princeton   Theological 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  FAMILY.  25 

Seminary;  is  the  first  person  named  in  tlie  Cliar- 
ter  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  Nev/  Jersey, 
November  .15,  1822;  and  was  the  first  President 
of  the  Board,  holding  that  office  until  his  deatli, 
which  occurred  in  1831. 

Capt.  David  Kirkpateick,  fourth  son  of 
David  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  and  Mary  McEowen, 
born  at  Mine  Brook,  November  1,  1758,  resided 
there  until  his  death,  December  11,  1828.  His 
wife,  Mary  Farrand,  of  Troy,  Morris  County,  died 
September  5,  1805,  in  t4ie  thirty-fourth  year  of 
her  age.     Their  children  were — 

1.  Walter y  born  April  12, 1795.  He  graduated 
at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1813;  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  New  Jer- 
sey for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  was  a  useful 
citizen,  highly  esteemed.  He  married  Mary 
Caroline,  daughter  of  Colonel  Lemuel  Cobb,  of 
Parsippany,  Morris  County,  who  was  born  Octo- 
ber 12,  1798,  and  died  October  6,  1826.  The 
Latin  epitaph  on  the  monument  in  the  grave-yard 
at  Parsippany,  where  her  remains  and  those  of  a 


26  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

beloved  son  lie,  is  a  sincere  and  affecting  expres- 
sion of  the  grief  of  the  surviving  husband  and 
fatlier.  The  Hon.  Walter  Kirkpatrick  was  a  man 
of  delicate  nervous  organization,  of  highly  culti- 
vated taste,  a  fine  classical  scholar  and  an  amateur 
of  the  Fine  Arts.  Repeated  domestic  bereave- 
ments disappointing  his  fond  expectations,  wrought 
powerfully  upon  his  sensitive  nature,  and  he  went 
down  to  his  grave,  a  mourner,  December  13, 1841. 
No  children  survive  him. 

2.  Hiighy  born  May  31,  1797,  died  March  11, 
1860.  He  never  married.  He  graduated  at  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1815,  and  after  pur- 
suing the  study  of  Medicine  for  the  prescribed 
time,  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
as  a  physician.  He  was  a  great  favorite  with  his 
friends,  and  familiarly  known  as  '^Doctor  Hugh." 
As  a  token  of  the  popular  favor  he  was  elected 
Sheriff  of  Somerset  county,  and  served  one  term. 
Like  his  brother  Walter  he  was  of  an  amiable 
disposition,  retiring  in  his  habits,  and  fond  of 
literary  occupation. 


THE  KIRKPATRWK  FAMILY.  27 

3.  Elizabeth  Farrwid,  born  November  19, 1799. 
She  married  the  Hon,  Andrew  B.  Cobb,  son  of 
Colonel  Lemuel  Cobb,  of  Parsippany,  and  died 
December  11,  1857,  leaving  one  daughter  Julia, 
now  wife  of  Frederick  A.  Demott,  Esq.,  of  Mor- 
ristown. 

Alexander  Kiekpatrick,  the  eldest  son  of 
David  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  and  brother  of  Chief 
Justice  Andrew  and  Captain  David,  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Judge  John  Carle,  of  Long 
Hill,  Morris  County,  and  brother  of  the  Rev. 
John  Carle.  She  died  February  15,  1842,  in  tlie 
eighty-second  year  of  her  age. 

Thirteen  of  the  children  of  Alexander  Kirk- 
patrick and  Sarah  Carle  reached  adult  age,  to  wit, 

1.  David,  born  December  24,  1776,  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Daniel  Cooper,  of  Long  Hill. 

2.  Mary,  born  April  25,  1781,  wife  of  John 
Lafferty  Cross,  of  Baskingridge. 

3.  John,  born  July  24,  1783,  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  David  Ayers,  and  sister  of  Dr.  Ayers, 
of  Liberty  Corner,  and  died  December  11,  1855. 


28      ^         KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

4.  Jacobj  born  August  8,  1785,  died  at  Rin- 
goes,  May  2, 1866.  He  married  Mary  Burroughs 
Howell,  daughter  of  John  Sutfin,  of.  Freehold, 
Monmouth  County,  New  Jersey.  Their  children, 
(1)  John  Sutfin,  who  died  in  infancy.  (2)  Alex- 
ander. (3)  David  Bishop.  (4)  Henry  Augustus, 
M.  D.  (5)  Calvin.  (6)  Newton.  (7)  Lydia 
Baker,  vnfe  of  Dr.  Justus  Lessey,  of  Philadel- 
phia. (8)  Sarah,  wife  of  J.  Gardiner  Bowne,  of 
Oakdale.  (9)  Charles  Whitehead.  (10)  Rev. 
Jacob.  (11)  Frances  J.,  wife  of  Edward  H. 
Schenck,  of  Ringoes.  (12)  Anna  F.,  wife  of 
Henry  Schenck,  of  New  Brunswick.  (13)  Eliza- 
beth G.,  wife  of  Martin  Nevius,  of  Blawenburg. 
(14)  Mary. 

5.  Sarah,  born  September  22,  1787,  wife  of 
William  Annin,  of  Liberty  Corner.  The  Rev. 
John  A.  Annin,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
Red  Wing,  Minnesota,  is  their  son. 

6.  Elizabeth,  born  September  21,  1789,  wife  of 
Alexander  Vail,  of  Bernard  township,  Somerset, 
had  two  daughters.     After  Mr.  VaiFs  death,  she 


THE  KIBKPATRICK  FAMILY.  29 

married  William  Gaston,  of  Baskingridge,  aiid 
had  several  sons. 

7.  Lydia,  born  December  20,  1791,  wife  of 
Peter  Demott,  of  Bedminster. 

8.  Anne,  born  January  27,  1794,  wife  of  John 
Stelle,  of  Bernard  township. 

9.  Bebeeca,  born  June  15, 1796,  wife  of  Squier 
Terrill,  of  Warren  township,  Somerset. 

10.  3Iartha,  born  October  8,  1802,  wife  of 
Israel  Squiers,  of  Morris  County,  near  Basking- 
ridge. 

11.  Jane,  born  May  20,  1798,  wife  of  John 
Cory,  of  Morris  County,  near  Baskingridge. 

12.  Alexander,  born  August  10,  1800,  married 
a  Miss  Tingley. 

13.  Robert  Finley,  born  July  22, 1805,  married 
Charity,  sister  of  Squier  Terrill. 

David  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  who  came  to  this 
country  with  his  father  Alexander  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  was  well  remembered  by  his  grandson, 
Dr.  Jacob   Kirkpatrick.     Old  documents   show 

that  he  was  greatly  esteemed  and  beloved.    Plain 

3  * 


30  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

and  simple  in  his  habits,  of  strict  integrity  and 
sterling  common  sense,  he  was  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  self-reliance.  We  have  an  exponent 
of  what  he  was  in  that  fine  substantial  stone- 
house  which  he  built  at  Mine  Brook  in  1765,  with 
its  thick  firm  walls  laid  in  mortar  almost  as  hard 
now  as  the  gray  sand- stone  itself,  and  with  floors 
made  of  white  oak  inch  plank  laid  double.  The 
old  stone-work  and  the  old  pointing  look  nearly 
as  fresh  as  on  the  addition  recently  built  by  the 
present  occupant.  With  proper  care  the  house 
might  be  made  to  last  five  centuries  more. 

On  a  stone  over  the  front  door  (but  now  con- 
cealed by  a  new  portico,)  are  chiseled,  "  D.  M.  K, 
1765/'  the  three  initial  letters  standing  for  "  Da- 
vid and  Mary  Kirkpatrick."  One  of  the  oldest 
residents  of  Mine  Brook,  Mr.  Heath,  aged 
eighty-seven,  well  remembers  hearing  the  old 
gentleman  speak  of  the  pains  he  took  in  putting 
up  this  dwelling-house.  Indeed,  whatever  he 
undertook  he  did  thoroughly,  nor  Avas  he  ever 
content  not  to  be  usefully  occupied.     The   lily- 


THE  KIRKPATRICK  FAMILY.  31 

fingered  exquisites  of  the  present  day  would  have 
met  with  many  a  stem  rebuke  from  him  in  his 
broad  Scotch  brogue.  Although  he  lived  about 
two  miles  from  the  church  at  Baskingridge,  he 
always  preferred  to  walk  while  the  rest  of  the 
family  rode.  It  is  said  of  him,  when  a  member 
of  the  New  Jersey  Legislature,  that  although  he 
would  commence  his  journey  on  horseback,  he 
soon  dismounted  and  leading  his  horse  walked 
the  remainder  of  the  way  to  Trenton.  He  lived 
to  enter  his  ninety-first  year ;  educated  one  son  at 
the  College  of  New  Jersey ;  knew  of  at  least  six 
grandsons  who  were  liberally  educated ;  and  at 
his  death  left  a  numerous  posterity  to  bless  his 
memory.  In  his  last  will  executed  thirteen  years 
before  his  death,  we  see  the  character  of  the  man. 
It  begins :  "  I,  David  Kirkpatrick,  having  arrived 
at  a  good  old  age,  and  being  desirous  of  arranging 
and  settling  my  worldly  affairs,  and  directing  how 
the  property  wherewith  it  has  pleased  God  to 
reward  my  labors  should  be  disposed  of  after  my 
death,"  etc.,  and  ends:  "And  now  bavins:  dis- 


32  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

posed  of  all  my  worldly  concerns,  I  humbly  com- 
mit my  immortal  soul  to  God  my  Heavenly 
Father  in  an  humble  hope  that  through  the 
merits  and  intercession  of  Jesus  Christ  my  Saviour 
and  Redeemer  I  shall  be  raised  again  at  the  last 
day  in  glory  everlasting/'  Both  as  to  the  great 
concerns  of  eternity  and  the  things  of  time  he 
seems  to  have  acted  in  the  spirit  of  the  motto  of 
the  Coat  of  Arms  of  the  Kirkpatrick  family :  "/ 
make  sureP 


II. 

BEV.  JACOB  KUtKJPATBICK,  D.  I>, 

IN  the  northern  part  of  Warren  township, 
Somerset  County,  New  Jersey,  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Passaic,  about  six  miles  south-east 
from  Baskingriclge  stands  the  house  where  was 
born,  on  the  8th  of  August,  1785,  Jacob  Kirk- 
patrick,  son  of  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  and  Sarah 
Carle.  On  the  south  lies  Stony  Hill,  and  on 
the  north  extending  half  a  mile  to  the  banks 
of  the  Passaic  is  a  slope  of  green  and  fertile 
meadow,  while  in  the  distance  in  full  view  is 
the  continuous  range  of  high  land  in  Morris 
County  known  as  Long  Hill,  covered  with  well- 
tilled  farms  and  dotted  with  comfortable  farm- 
houses. The.  lasting  spring  of  pure  water  not  far 
from  the  door  seems  to  tell  the  stranger  as  he 
slakes  his  thirst,  that  many  who  once  drank  of  it 

33 


84  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

have  been  scattered  far  and  wide  and  are  now 
sleeping  in  the  dust. 

Here  on  a  tract  of  four  hundred  acres  taken 
from  the  large  landed  estate  of  Judge  Carle,  the 
parents  settled  soon  after  their  marriage  and  en- 
deavored to  train  up  their  family  in  the  fear  of 
God.  The  responsible  charge  of  thirteen  children 
who  grew  up  to  manhood  and  womanhood  was 
committed  to  their  trust.  In  this  work  they  were 
assisted  by  the  able  and  faithful  servants  of  God, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Kennedy,  M.  D.,  and  the  Rev. 
Robert  Finley,  D.  D.,  successively  pastors  of  the 
Church  of  Baskingridge  on  whose  ministrations 
they  attended.  They  were  regular  in  their  at- 
tendance at  the  sanctuary  after  the  example  of  his 
Scotch  ancestors,  and  never  did  Alexander  Kirk- 
patrick  and  his  family  disturb  the  devotions  of 
the  congregation  by  arriving  after  the  public 
exercises  had  begun.  He  was  habitually  so  early 
that  one  of  his  neighbors,  it  is  said,  never  began 
his  preparations  until  he  had  seen  Mr.  Kirkpat- 
rick  drive  by   his  door;    and  often,  when  that 


REV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  D.  D.         35 

tardy  neighbor,  whom  for  the  sake  of  the  inci- 
dent we  will  call  John  Smith,  reached  the  church, 
the  wags  who  were  hanging  around  the  door  were 
accustomed  to  say  to  each  other  with  a  wink  of 
the  eye :  "  It's  time  to  go  into  meeting,  for  John 
Smith  has  come."  The  records  of  the  Baskino;- 
ridge  Church  show  that  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  was  an 
active  and  useful  member. 

Much  of  the  time  of  Jacob's  childhood,  when 
not  prosecuting  English  studies  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  neighborhood  was  occupied  in  such 
labor  on  the  farni  as  suited  his  age.  He  was 
accustomed  to  relate  to  his  own  children  how 
often  he  had  taken  the  grist  to  mill  on  horseback 
and  driven  the  team  over  the  mountain  with 
loads  of  wood.  All  these  labors  served  to 
strengthen  a  constitution  naturally  good,  and  to 
prepare  him  for  that  constant  exposure  and  toil- 
some service  to  which  he  was  to  be  subjected  in 
after  life  as  a  minister  of  Christ. 

When  he  was  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age, 
a  circumstance  occurred  which  made  that,  in  all 


30  KIMKPA TRICK  MEMORIAL. 

]3robability,  a  turning-jioint  in  the  history  of  his 
life.  He  had  been  drinking,  after  the  custom  of 
those  times,  some  intoxicating  liquor  with  one  of 
his  companions,  when  suddenly  he  turned  around 
to  his  friend  and  said,  with  great  earnestness: 
^^AVe  ought  never  to  drink  any  more  liquor;  if 
we  don't  stop  drinking  we'll  become  drunkards." 
He  did  stoj)  from  that  hour ;  and  for  the  remainder 
of  life,  not  only  as  a  personal  safeguard,  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  example,  he  was  a  total  abstinence 
man.  His  companion  formed  no  such  resolution, 
but  continued  to  drink  until  the  habit  became  too 
inveterate  to  be  overcome,  and  he  died  a  drunkard. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  young  Kirkpatrick 
had  been  awakened  to  though tfulness  on  this  sub- 
ject by  something  he  had  heard  from  the  lips  of 
his  pastor.  On  one  occasion,  early  in  his  ministry, 
Dr.  Finley  exchanged  pulpits  for  a  Sabbath  with 
the  pastor  of  a  neighboring  church.  At  the  latter 
place  the  tavern  was  opposite  to,  or  near  by  the 
church,  and  with  the  bar  kept  open  on  Sunday  as 
well  as  other  days,  according  to  the  old  custom. 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATBICK,  D.  D.         37 

Being  much  fatigued  with  his  ride,  he  dismounted 
and  walked  into  the  bar-room  and  drank  some- 
thing stronger  than  water  for  his  refreshment. 
As  he  passed  out  of  the  tavern  for  the  church  he 
saw  two  young  men,  one  of  whom  he  overheard 
saying  to  the  other:  "Come,  let's  go  hear  the 
Dominie  preach — he  has  just  had  ^a  smaller^  and 
I  guess  we'll  have  a  good  sermon."  How  good 
th«  sermon  he  preached  to  that  congregation  was, 
tradition  does  not  inform  us,  but  he  felt  that  a 
pungent  sermon  had  been  preached  to  him  in  the 
brief  sentence  uttered  by  that  young  man.  It  so 
affected  him  that  he  resolved  henceforth  that  no 
man  should  have  the  opportunity  to  quote  him  as 
an  example  to  justify  drinking-habits ;  he  resolved 
to  abandon  altogether  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquor  as  a  beverage— and  those  who  knew  him 
were  aware  that  for  Dr.  Finley  to  resolve  was  to 
execute. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  Jacob  began  his  course 
of  classical  study,  making  his  home  with  his 
grandfather,  David  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  at  Mine 


38  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

Brook,  because  it  was  four  miles  nearer  to  Bask- 
ingridge  than  his  father's  house.  The  following 
written  by  his  own  hand  has  been  found  among 
his  papers : 

FINLEY'S  FIRST  CLASS. 

"  In  the  autumn  of  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  ninety-nine,  (1799)  two  lads  of  about  the 
same  age,  commenced  the  study  of  the  Latin 
Grammar  together,  under  the  instruction  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Finley,  then  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Baskingridge.  Their  names 
were  Samuel  Lewis  Southard  and  Jacob  Kirk- 
patrick.  Their  parents  resided  within  the  bounds 
of  the  parish  and  were  members  of  Mr.  Finley's 
church.  Mr.  Finley  (afterwards  Dr.  Finley)  was 
recently  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a  pastor,  and 
but  lately  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 
(There  was  no  Theological  Seminary  then  in  our 
land).  From  the  combined  motive  of  doing  good 
and  obtaining  a  livelihood,  he  conceived  the  enter- 
[iiise  of  an  academy.     The  two  lads  above  named 


REV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  D.  D.  39 

formed  the  nucleus  around  which  a  number  clus- 
tered, until  there  was  formed  in  that  place  a  large 
and  flourishing  classical  school. 

"They  had  progressed  part  way  through  the 
Latin  Grammar  (then  Ruddiman's)  when  they 
were  joined  by  Philip  Lindsly,  a  youth  from  the 
same  neighborhood.  He  had  been  a  short  time 
at  school  at  Morristown,  but  he  fell  into  the  same 
class.  A  short  time  again  elapsed  when  a  fourth 
one  arrived.  He  then  wrote  his  name  Jacob  R. 
T.  Frelinghuysen.  He  was  the  son  of  General 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  (then  living  at^.  Mill- 
stone, Somerset  County),  of  Revolutionary  mem- 
ory. These  four  constituted  the  first  class  of  the 
Academy  of  Baskingridge,  under  the  care  of  Rev. 
R.  Finley.  We  were  guided  in  our  studies  of 
the  different  classics,  which  then  constituted  the 
course  in  the  lower  classes  in  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  till  the  commencement  of  the  College, 
then  the  last  Wednesday  of  September,  A.  D., 
1802. 

"  We  presented  ourselves  for  examination  before 


40  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Smith,  then  President  of  the  College, 
and  were  admitted  to  a  standing  in  the  Junior 
Class. 

"  The  faculty  of  the  College  then  consisted  of 
Samuel  S.  Smith,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President,  John 
Maclean,  M.  D.,  Vice  President,  and  two  Tutors, 
James  Carnahan  and  Benjamin  B.  Hopkins. 
There  was  no  other  professor  connected  with  the 
institution.  Dr.  Smith  preached  regularly  to  us 
on  the  Sabbath.  There  was  no  other  clergyman 
even  of  any  denomination  in  Princeton. 

^^The  College  edifice  (now  the  Old  North  Col- 
lege) had  been  burned  in  the  spring  previous  and 
rebuilt  during  the  summer  of  1802.  The  rooms 
were  not  deemed  sufficiently  dry  for  two  weeks, 
during  which  we  boarded  in  private  families  4n 
town,'  as  the  expression  was.  P.  Lindsly  and  the 
writer  of  this,  furnished  a  room  together,  which 
we  obtained  by  lot.  This  was  the  way  the  rooms 
were  disposed  of  at  our  first  occupying  the  new 
edifice.  The  room  we  lived  in  was  24,  second 
entry,  and  we  remained  together  there  to  the  end 


BEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATBICK,  D.  D.         41 

of  our  course,  in  September,  1804.  We  sang: 
'Now  we  are  free  from  College  rules/  Each 
having  obtained  his  diploma  we  separated." 

That  was  a  class  of  unusual  ability,  containing, 
as  it  did.  Rev.  Philip  Lindsly,  D.  D.,  E-ev.  Jacob 
Kirkpatrick,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Nathaniel  S.  Prime, 
D.  D.,  Rev.  Alfred  Ely,  D.  D.,  Hon.  Samuel  L. 
Southard,  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Hon. 
George  Chambers,  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Crawford, 
and  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  to  mention  no 
others.  His  room-mate,  Philip  Lindsly,  was  a 
man  of  great  originality  and  power,  and  distin- 
guished himself  as  an  educator  of  youth,  and  the 
career  of  Frelinghuysen  and  Southard  as  Counsel- 
lors at  law  and  Statesmen,  proved  them  to  be  men 
of  mark,  and  has  made  them  an  honor  to  their 
native  state. 

Immediately  after  taking  his  first  degree,  young 
Kirkpatrick  entered  his  name  as  a  student  of  law 
in  the  office  of  George  C.  Maxwell,  Esq.,  Flem- 
ington,  at  the  same  time  teaching  in  the  Academy 
at  Somerville.     After  pursuing  the  study  of  the 


42  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL, 

law  for  about  three  years,  during  a  visit  to  his 
native  parish  at  a  season  of  revival  under  the 
ministrations  of  Dr.  Finley  in  1807,  his  views 
and  feelings  on  the  subject  of  religion  became  so 
changed,  that  he  relinquished  the  law  and  conse- 
crated himself  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry. 
This  change  was  not  determined  upon  without  a 
severe  internal  conflict.     Quite  a  number  of  his 
most  highly  esteemed  classmates  were  just  about 
to  begin  their  career  at  the  bar,  and  he  would 
naturally  prefer  to  continue  to  be,  in  a  measure, 
associated  with  them.     Besides,  that  was  a  time 
when  our  country  had  scarcely  begun  to  recover 
from  the  overwhelming  influence  of  French  infi- 
delity— many  of  our  influential  public  men  were 
skeptics — the  Christian  ministry,  as  a  profession, 
was  held  at  a  large  discount,  and  conscientious 
piety  was  looked  upon  by  not  a  few  who  thought 
themselves  to  be  wise,  as  contemptible  hypocrisy. 
The  popular  current  was  in  the  wrong  direction, 
and  there  were  men  of  high  standing  and  influ- 
ence, who  would  say,  that  for  any  young  man  of 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRIGK,  D.  D.         43 

education  and  talents  to  undertake  the  business 
of  a  preacher,  was  to  bury  himself  for  life.  But 
our  friend  abandoned  his  long  cherished  aspira- 
tions for  distinction,  and  resolved  to  endure  for 
Christ's  sake  all  the  opprobrium  his  decision 
might  provoke;  and  his  whole  subsequent  course 
has  proved  that  in  this  conflict  the  change  wrought 
was  genuine,  and  that  grace  was  surely  triumphant. 
His  successor,  the  Rev.  William  J.  Wright, 
thus  refers  to  this  epoch  in  Dr.  Kirkpatrick's 
life :  "  The  struggle  was  a  close  one  whether  to 
keep  back  part  of  the  price,  or  to  throw  heart, 
soul,  mind,  and  strength  into  the  work  of  the 
Lord ;  and  I  think  I  hear  the  percussive  words 
of  Chrysostom  ringing  in  his  ears,  'Contemn 
riches  and  thou  shalt  be  rich ;  contemn  glory  and 
thou  shalt  be  glorious ;  contemn  injuries  and  thou 
shalt  be  a  conqueror;  contemn  rest  and  thou 
shalt  gain  rest;  contemn  earth  and  thou  shalt 
gain  heaven.'  The  year  passes  and  we  behold 
the  ardent  worldling  humbled  and  sitting  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross.     The  struggle  had  passed,  and 


44  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL, 

the  world  was  surrendered  for  ever.  In  the  bit- 
terness of  the  contest  he  had  beaten  the  world  and 
trampled  it  under  foot.  No  one  who  knew  Dr. 
Kirkpatrick  but  must  have  felt  that  he  gained  a 
rare  and  unsurpassed  victory,  and  the  triumph 
appreciates  in  importance  as  we  look  at  the  then 
opposing  influence  of  associates  and  the  time^- 
honored  traditions  of  his  earlier  years." 

The  Eev.  John  L.  Janeway,  D.  D.,  also  says 
of  him :  "  His  talents,  his  eloquence,  his  practical 
business  turn  of  mind  and  popular  manners  would 
have  led  to  eminence  and  wealth  in  the  profession 
[of  tlie  law].  Ambition  beckoned  him  on,  but 
God  converted  him,  and  had  other  work  for  him; 
he  designed  him  for  the  ministry.  After  due  and 
serious  reflection,  feeling  assured  that  God  had 
called  him  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  turned  his 
back  upon  the  law  with  its  honors  and  emolu- 
ments, and  commenced  his  preparation  for  the 
self-denying  life  of  the  ministry.  And  after  fifty- 
six  years  of  toil  he  laid  down  and  died  a  poor 
man.     The  only  result  of  his  years  of  labor  was  a 


BEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  D.D.         45 

bare  yearly  support.  Say — is  not  such  a  man 
worthy  to  be  esteemed  and  held  in  grateful  re- 
membrance, who  for  the  sake  of  souls  gave  up  a 
profession  which  opened  up  honors  and  riches  ? 
But  he  counted  the  cost ;  he  took  up  the  cross  and 
looked  for  his  reward  not  from  this  world  nor 
from  nien^  but  from  his  Master  in  heaven." 

The  final  decision  having  been  made  he  imme- 
diately placed  himself  under  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
John  Woodhull,  D.D.,  of  Freehold,  Monmouth  Co., 
who  at  that  time,  when  there  were  no  Theological 
Seminaries,  was  often  resorted  to  by  candidates  for 
the  ministry  for  instruction  in  Theology.  He 
took  lodgings  in  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Sutfin, 
not  far  from  the  old  Tennent  Church,  and  over 
against  the  Parsonage,  once  occupied  by  the  cele- 
brated Rev.  William  Tennent,  and  then  by  his 
successor  Dr.  Woodhull.  Here,  associated  with 
Jacob  T.  Field,  a  fellow-student,  he  spent  about 
two  years.  He  and  his  friend  were  taken  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  at 
the  same  time,  October  7,  1807 ;  their  next  ap- 


46  KIllKPATRlGK  MEMORIAL. 

pearance  was  April  26,  1809,  when  each  read  a 
lecture,  and  they  were  both  licensed  to  preach  the 
gospel  on  the  8tli  of  August,  1809.  The  pastoral 
relation  between  the  Rev.  Thomas  Grant  having 
been  dissolved  on  the  26th  of  April  previous,  Mr. 
Kirkpatrick  preached  for  that  people  for  the  first 
time  in  the  month  of  September,  and  afterwards 
by  appointment  of  the  Presbytery  five  Sabbaths 
in  December,  1809,  and  in  February  and  April, 
1810.  This  opened  the  way  for  his  being  called 
to  take  the  pastoral  office  among  them,  as  appears 
from  the  Records  of  the  Presbytery  at  Trenton, 
April  24,  1810. 

This  was  a  call  for  "five  years,"  which  the 
Presbytery  refused  to  put  into  his  hands,  but 
resolved  to  ordain  him  and  appoint  him  a  stated 
supply  for  five  years. 

Dr.  Kirkpatrick  states  that  "When  it  [this 
call]  was  read  in  the  Presbytery,  Dr.  S.  Stanhope 
Smith  casting  his  keen  eye  upon  me,  remarked : 
^  I  would  throw  it  back  in  their  teeth.'  On  the 
19th  of  June,  1810,  the  Presbytery  met  in  the 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATBICK,  JD.  D.         47 

Amwell  First  Church  and  heard  the  candidate's 
trial  sermon  for  ordination  from  Col.  iii.  4,  and 
on  the  next  day,  June  20th,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  was 
ordained,  Dr.  John  Woodhull  preaching  the  ser- 
mon and  offering  the  ordaining  prayer.  The 
Rev.  Holloway  W.  Hunt  gave  the  charge  to  the 
minister,  and  delivered  "  a  suitable  address  to  the 
people.' ' 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  held  April  25, 
1815,  the  Amwell  people  having  acted  upon  the 
advice  previously  given  them,  a  regular  call  was 
presented;  and  on  the  16th  of  June  following  in 
the  "  Old  Stone  Church,"  (formerly  occupied  by 
a  German  congregation  then  dissolved),  Mr. 
Kirkpatrick  was  formally  installed  the  pastor  of 
the  Amwell  churches,  his  cousin  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam B.  Sloan  preaching  the  sermon,  and  the  Rev. 
George  S.  Woodhull  giving  the  charges  to  pastor 
and  people. 

The  result  was  a  happy  one,  evincing  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Presbytery,  tlie  popularity  of  the 
young  pastor,  and  the  kind  feeling  with  which 


48  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

the  people  abandoned  the  deep-rooted  prejudice 
they  had  formed  against  settling  a  pastor  in  the 
ordinary  way. 

In  his  half  century  sermon  Dr.  Kirkpatrick 
says,  "  It  was  the  remark  of  some  when  my  pre- 
decessor left  them,  Hhat  they  would  not  call 
another  man  for  life.^  Still  they  have  had  one 
almost  for  life,  and  perhaps  they  will  keep  him  as 
long  as  he  lives."  And  so  it  proved,  for  he  com- 
pleted fifty-six  years  of  residence  among  them, 
and  the  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  only  by 
his  death. 

In  his  half  century  sermon  we  have  his  mature 
views  on  this  subject:  "In  conclusion  let  me 
say,  I  have  always  looked  upon  the  pastoral 
relation,  constituted  by  an  installation  service,  as 
a  relation  which  ought  not  to  be  for  trifles  dis- 
solved. Instances  there  are  and  have  been,  where 
circumstances  demanded  a  separation  of  pastor 
and  people;  but  is  it  not  the  fact  that  there  are 
many  dissolutions  that  are  to  be  regretted  ?  In 
writing  not  long  since  to  a  beloved  brother  at  the 


REV.  JACOB  KIUKPATRICK,  I).  D.         49 

rc'C|iiest  of  a  vacant  church,  I  said  to  him,  ^I 
have  nothing  to  say  as  to  the  salary  which  you 
receive  or  which  you  may  expect  if  you  remove ; 
but  you  and  I  are  not  to  be  governed  by  dollars 
and  (^nts,  but  by  a  sense  of  duty.  If  the  hand 
of  God  waves  and  seems  to  say  remove,  remove, 
I  can  recommend  the  church  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking.' "  It  is  well  known  that  on  several 
occasions  he  received  flattering  overtures  from 
other  congregations,  where  his  worldly  condition 
would  have  been  greatly  improved,  but  his  sense 
of  duty  united  to  his  unchanging  love  for  the 
people  whom  he  had  served  in  his  youth  con- 
strained him  uniformly  to  reject  them  and  to 
abide  where  he  was. 

In  1853,  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  relinquished  one 
hundred  dollars  of  his  salary  to  secure  the  settle- 
ment of  a  colleague.  This  colleague  was  the 
Rev.  Samuel  M.  Osmond,  now  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Iowa  City,  Iowa.  Dr. 
K.  says:  "For  more  than  forty  years  I  preached 
alternate] V   in   the   ^United    First'   and    ^Second' 


50  KIRKPATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

cluirches.  In  1852  I  urged  that  as  both  churches 
were  large  and  able,  they  ought  to  have  preaching 
in  both  houses  every  Sabbath.  Some  of  my 
brethren  and  fathers  whom  I  consulted  advised  a 
separation — that  I  had  better  leave  one  church. 
Some  advised  a  colleague.  I  took  the  latter 
course.  In  1853  they  called  a  colleague  or  co- 
pastor. 

"They  who  advised  a  separation  of  the  churches 
gave  as  reasons,  that  a  colleague  might  ingratiate 
himself  into  the  good  feelings  of  the  people,  as 
he  probably  would  be  young;  and  as  I  was  on 
the  decline,  and  going  down,  I  might  find  myself 
in  an  unpleasant  situation.  But  none  of  these 
things  ever  were  manifest,  even  in  the  slightest 
degree.  He  always  treated  me  as  a  father.  I 
loved  him,  and  love  him  still,  but  the  tongue  of 
eulogy  is  dumb.  For  four  years  we  lived  to- 
gether in  friendship  and  peace,  and  love,  and  I 
think  could  have  lived  together  till  my  gray  hairs 
were  laid  in  the  grave;  but  his  health  not  being 
very  firm,   lie  thought  a  removal  to  a  diiferent 


REV,  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  D.  I\         51 

part  of  the  country  might  be  advantageous  and 
he  left  us/' 

During  the  last  year  of  his  life  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  settlement  of  a  colleague  with 
him  over  the  Amwell  United  First  Church,  who 
should  perform  the  more  laborious  part  of  the 
pastoral  w^ork.  The  Rev.  William  J.  Wright 
was  the  person  called  to  that  office;  but  his  in- 
stallation did  not  take  place  until  about  a  week 
before  the  death  of  the  venerable  senior  pastor, 
who  was  then  confined  to  the  house,  awaiting  the 
call  of  his  Master  to  go  upward. 

The  following  article  prepared  for  the  press  at 
the  time  by  the  writer  of  these  sketches,  is  here 
introduced  both  for  the  sake  of  the  memorable 
occasion,  and  on  account  of  the  facts,  most  of 
which  were  on  that  day,  gathered  from  Dr.  Kirk- 
patrick's  own  lips.     It  is  entitled, 

A  GOLDEN  WJEnniNG. 

"In  one  of  those  hospitable  mansions  which 
were  then  and  are  now  so  numerous  in  old  Mon- 


52  KIRKPATHWK  MEMORIAL. 

mouth  Comity,  New  Jersey,  on  the  thirteenth  day 
of  December,  1809,  Jacob  Ivirkpatrick  and  Mary 
Sutfin  were  joined  in  holy  wedlock  by  the  Rev. 
John  Woodhull,  D.  D.,  her  pastor,  and  Ids  theolo- 
gical preceptor.  ,  The  newly  wedded  were  soon 
found  at  Ringoes,  in  Hunterdon  County,  where 
the  husband  was  laboring  as  a  minister  of  Christ. 
On  the  20th  of  June  following  he  was  ordained. 
In  the  same  place  they  have  remained  until  this 
day.  On  the  13th  of  December,  1859,  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  their  marriage,  their  golden  wed- 
ding  was  celebrated.  The  pastors  of  the  adjacent 
Presbyterian  churches  and  other  clerical  friends, 
with  a  large  number  of  those  who  now  are,  or 
have  been,  under  Dr.  Kirkpatrick's  pastoral 
charge,  met  at  the  Ringoes  parsonage,  and  spent 
the  day  with  the  venerable  couple  and  their  as- 
sembled children  and  grandchildren.  One  person 
who  witnessed  the  marriage  ceremony,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  K.,  was  present.  The  groomsman  and 
bridesmaid  are  yet  living,  but  the  infirmities  of 
age,  and  the  distance  of  the  place  of  meeting, 


^- 


EEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  1).  T).  53 

prevented  their  attendance.  Of  their  fourteen 
children,  four  sons  have  died,  (one  of  whom  was 
the  late  Rev.  J.  Kirkpatrick,  Jr.),  and  ten  chil- 
dren— four  sons  and  six  daughters,  still  survive — 
all  of  them  professed  followers  of  Christ,  and  all 
married  except  the  two  youngest  daughters.  Of 
their  thirty  grandchildren,  twenty-four  are  living, 
and  mast  of  them,  if  not  all,  have  been  dedicated 
to  God  in  baptism. 

"A  rich  and  bountiful  repast  was  furnished  by 
the  ladies  of  the  congregation;  and  golden  tokens 
of  respect  and  affection  were  liberally  supplied  by 
the  guests  to  fill  the  purse  of  the  aged  pair. 

^^In  behalf  of  the  assembly,  the  Rev.  P.  O. 
Studdiford,  D.D.,  of  Lambertville,  in  a  most  ap- 
propriate and  happy  mann^',  addressed  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Kirkpatrick. 

^^  The  address  was  followed  with  prayer  by  the 
pastor  of  the  Pennington  Church.  After  these 
exercises  were  over,  unexpectedly  to  all,  the  vene- 
rable patriarch  arose,  nearly  overcome  by  emo- 
tion, and  taking  his  position  in  the  midst  of  the 


54  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

crowd  of  his  friends  and  spiritual  children,  he 
poured  forth  in  strains  of  simple  eloquence  the 
feelings  of  his  noble  heart.  Notwithstanding  the 
many  pleasing  and  striking  occurrences  of  tlie 
celebration,  this  speech  was  unquestionably  the 
event  of  the  day.  No  description  of  the  ready 
writer,  no  pen  of  a  stenographer  could  do  it  full 
justice.  To  present  it  in  its  proper  light,  there 
would  be  needed  a  series  of  photographic  impres- 
sions exhibiting  the  aspect  of  the  speaker  and 
audience  at  each  successive  moment,  with  the 
advantages  of  some  new  art  that  could  arrest  and 
give  permanence  to  the  intonations  of  the  voice 
and  to  that  powerful  electric  current  which  per- 
vaded and  swayed  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those 
who  hung  upon  the  patriarch's  lips.  Even  the 
little  grandchildren  seemed  to  catch  the  spirit  of 
the  scene  as  they  gazed  with  a  tender,  wondering 
interest  upon  their  honored  grandsire.  He  re- 
marked that  he  was  now  addressing  the  grand- 
children of  the  grandchildren  (fifth  generation) 
of  those  who  first  called   him   to  this  pastoral 


BFV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  D.  D.  55 

charge;  that  within  his  original  field  of  labor^ 
twelve  miles  square,  in  the  township  of  Amwell, 
there  was  now  living  but  one  married  cou2:)le, 
whom  he  found  in  wedlock  at  his  settlement,  and 
the  husband  (Mr.  David  Bellis)  was  here  present. 
Since  his  own  marriage,  he  had  married  about  six 
hundred  and  thirty  [at  the  time  of  his  death,  seven 
hundred  and  five]  couples,  and  in  some  cases  had 
officiated  at  the  marriage  of  parents,  children,  and 
grandchildren;  of  the  ministers  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  at  the 
time  of  his  licensure,  all  have  died  except  one. 
Dr.  Isaac  V.  Brown,  [since  dead] ;  though  he  had 
not  moved  from  his  place  for  half  a  century,  he 
had  belonged  to  two  Synods  and  three  Presbyte- 
ries; when  he  was  ordained,  there  were  connected 
with  his  charge  ninety-four  communicants,  but 
now  attached  to  the  five  Presbyterian  churches 
occupying  the  same  ground,  there  are  at  present 
nearly  ten  times  that  number  in  communion 
making  no  account  of  those  who  have  died  in  the 
faith,  or  have  transferred  their  relation  to  other 


56  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

churches.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  stated  that  this  was 
the  forty-ninth  annual  donation  visit  that  had 
been  made  to  his  family  since  he  became  their 
pastor.  Happy  people!  blessed  with  a  long,  an 
honored,  a  faithful,  and  a  successful  ministry; 
happy  pastor  so  blessed  in  his  work — '  May  his  bow 
abide  in  strength,  and  the  arms  of  his  hands  be 
made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of 
Jacob;  happy  husband  and  worthy  ^help-meet' — 
may  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  rest  on  them 
and  their  descendants  to  the  latest  generation,  and 
may  their  declining  sun  be  bright  to  the  last.' '' 

Dr.  Kirkpatrick's  field  of  labor  originally  ex- 
tended from  the  Delaware  River,  where  Lambert- 
ville  now  stands,  to  the  Somerset  line.  On  this 
wide  field  he  "made  full  proof  of  his  ministry''  in 
cold  and  heat,  sunshine  and  storm,  by  day  and  by 
night,  doing  the  work  of  a  missionary.  Many  a 
tiihe  he  has  been  compelled  to  do  a  large  portion 
of  his  studying  on  horseback,  or  wlien  riding  in 
his  carriage  from  place  to  place  through  the  con- 
gregation, or   to   answer   calls   from  a  distance. 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  I),  t).         57 

Whatever  reputation  he  might  have  gained  as  a 
finished  orator,  or  a  profound  scholar,  was  sacri- 
ficed to  calls  upon  the  sick,  the  dying,  and  the 
afflicted;  to  social  visits  in  the  families  of  his 
charge;  to  attendance  on  religious  services  on 
week-day  evenings,  and  to  the  preaching  of  funeral 
sermons  beyond,  as  well  as  within  the  bounds  of 
his  own  parish.  So  great  was  his  popularity  as  a 
preacher,  that  his  services  were  in  constant  de- 
mand abroad,  especially  in  revivals  of  religion. 
The  weeks  spent  by  him  and  his  friend  Dr.  Stud- 
diford,  in  "doing  the  work  of  an  evangelist''  in 
various  parts  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania, 
would  fill  up  no  small  part  of  the  fifty-six  years 
of  his  ministry.  Eminently  successful  as  he  was 
in  winning  souls  among  his  own  people,  the  ag- 
gregate of  the  spiritual  harvests  gathered  in  by 
others  as  the  fruit  of  his  labors  far  exceeds  the 
results  at  home.  He  was  the  servant  of  any  and 
every  one  that  he  might  gain  the  more,  following 
the  example  of  his  divine  Master  who  "came  not 
to  be  ministered  to,  but  to  minister."     He  had 


68  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

nothing  of  the  proselyting  spirit  about  him,  but 
left  every  man  to  choose  his  own  denomination 
and  his  own  place  of  worship.  If  any  of  his 
()^\■n  people  preferred  to  leave  his  pastoral  over- 
sight for  another's,  he  never  attempted  to  inter- 
pose an  obstacle  by  either  word  or  act.  He  had 
no  ambition  to  convert  men  to  himself,  or  to  swell 
the  number  of  his  followers ;  for  the  great  end  he 
sought  was  gained  when  the  power  of  godliness 
was  increased  in  believers  and  souls  were  saved 
from  death.  His  Christia7i  magnanimity  was  above 
all  praise. 

Of  selfishness,  vanity,  pride,  worldly  ambition, 
envy,  jealousy,  wilfulness,  and  love  of  money,  he 
had  as  little  as  any  man  the  writer  ever  knew. 
He  had  a  large,  warm,  generous  heart,  too  gene- 
rous even  to  assert  his  own  rights  when  they  were 
infringed.  He  was  a  rare  example  of  "  the  meek- 
ness and  gentleness  of  Christ.''  Though  he 
understood  human  nature  well,  and  could  often 
read  a  man's  character  at  a  glance,  he  never  used 
this  talent  for  selfish  purposes  but  only  to  increase 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  JD.  U.  59 

his  power  over  the  conscience  and  the  heart  in 
private  or  from  the  pulpit.  He  had  not  set  his 
heart  on  earthly  things.  He  could  appeal  to  his 
people  with  a  clear  conscience  and  say  with  Paul : 
"  I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver  or  gold,  or  ap- 
parel," or  with  the  Prophet  Samuel :  "  Whose  ox 
have  I  taken?  or  whose  ass  have  I  taken?  or 
whom  have  I  defrauded  ?  whom  have  I  oppressed  ? 
or  of  whose  hand  have  I  received  any  bribe  to 
blind  mine  eyes  therewith  ?" 

Few  men  have  approached  as  near  as  he  to  a 
literal  conformity  to  these  precepts  of  our  Lord : 
"  But  I  say  unto  you  that  ye  resist  not  evil ;  but 
whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right  cheek, 
turn  to  him  the  other  also.  And  if  any  man  will 
sue  thee  at  the  law  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let 
him  have  thy  cloak  also.  And  whosoever  shall 
compel  thee  to  go  a  mile  with  him,  go  with  him 
twain.  Give  to  him  that  asketh  of  thee  and  from 
him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou 
away." 

Whether  or  not  he  did  sometimes  yield  too 


60  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

much,  and  submit  to  the  infringement  of  his  rights 
to  a  greater  degree  than  was  consistent  with  the 
good  of  others  as  well  •as  of  liimself,  it  would  be 
presumption  to  affirm  ;  for  he  acted  conscientiously 
and  was  accustomed  to  say  that  he  could  not  do 
otlierwise.  He  was  exceedingly  jealous  of  him- 
self lest  he  should  either  say  or  do  anything  that 
might  hinder  the  salutary  effect  of  the  gospel 
upon  his  hearers.  If  he  could  but  bring  them  to 
Christ  he  was  willing  to  do  or  bear  almost  any- 
thing. 

I  haye  sometimes  thought  that  there  was  a 
strange  commingling  in  liis  constitution  of  the 
gentleness  of  woman  with  the  heart  of  a  lion. 
His  Christian  courage  wotdd  haye  taken  him  at 
any  time  to  the  lion's  den  or  the  martyr's  stake 
if  the  honor  of  religion  had  demanded  it. 

Though  he  was  mild,  easy  and  courteous  in  his 
manners,  he  was  rigidly  exact  in  eyerything  that 
related  to  the  keeping  of  a  promise,  the  meeting 
of  an  engagement  or  the  fulfilment  of  an  appoint- 
ment.     He   abounded    in    shrewd    sayings    and 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATBICK,  D.  D.         61 

humorous  anecdote/ but  such  was  his  nice  discri- 
mination  between  the  true  and  the  false  that  he 
was  always  found  adhering  to  the  simple  verity. 
He  was  one  whom  it  was  well  nigh  impossible 
not  to  love  with  a  more  than  ordinary  attachment. 
His  associates  in  the  ministry,  young  and  old,  to 
the  end  of  his  life,  took  delight  in  visiting  his 
hospitable  dwelling;  and  whoever  crossed  his 
threshold  with  a  burdened  sorrowing  heart,  soon 
returned  with  new  zeal  and  courage  to  the  calls 
of  duty.  And  wherever  he  went  he  was  more 
than  welcome.  His  cheerful  countenance  made 
his  very  presence  a  light  in  the  domestic  and 
social  circle.  Even  when  his  friends  visited  him 
to  condole  with  him  in  his  days  of  bereavement 
and  deep  affliction  they  wondered  at  the  grace 
that  sustained  him,  and  retired  with  the  convic- 
tion that  instead  of  imparting  consolation  they 
were  receiving  comfort  and  instruction  from  him. 
What  a  rich  treasure  such  a  man  is  and  must  be 
to  the  community  in  which  he  dwells. 

Arithmetic  cannot  present  to  the  eye  a  proper 


62  KIEKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

estimate  of  the  amount  of  good  he  accomplishes 
while  living,  and  the  blessed  fruits  gathered  long 
after  he  lias  passed  away. 

Dr.  Kirkpatrick's  ministry  was  honored  of  God 
by  ten  seasons  of  refreshing,  the  revivals  of  1843 
and  1846  exceedino;  in  power  either  of  the  others, 
for  in  each  of  these  two  years  more  than  one  hun- 
dred were  added  to  the  number  of  the  communi- 
cants, and  among  them  several  of  his  own  chil- 
dren. The  statistics  kindly  furnished  by  the 
Rev.  William  J.  Wright,  pastor  of  the  Amwell 
United  First,  and  the  Rev.  John  Burrows,  pastor 
of  the  Amwell  Second  Church,  show  that  in  tliose 
two  churches  six  hundred  and  twenty-one  have 
been  received  on  profession,  and  if  to  these  were 
added  those  of  the  Amwell  First  Church,  (which 
could  not  be  learned  in  season  owing  to  the  sick- 
ness of  the  pastor),  the  number  would  doubtless 
reach  seven  hundred.  The  fact  that  during  this 
long  period  only  fifty-three  were  received  by  cer- 
tificate in  one  church,  and  sixteen  in  the  other, 
proves  how  little  that  community  has  clianged  by 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  D.  D.         63 

immigration;  and  also  reminds  us  that  the 
churches  in  most  of  our  agricultural  districts  are 
engaged  in  the  important  work  of  training  and 
sending  out  those  who  are  to  be  the  pillars  of  the 
churches  in  our  cities  and  in  various  other  por- 
tions of  the  land. 

During  his  ministry  he  preached  about  eleven 
thousand  times,  and  attended  about  nine  hundred 
funerals.  Much  of  his  time  was  employed  in 
attending  the  judicatories  of  the  church  from 
which  he  was  never  absent  without  good  cause, 
and  in  which  his  counsels  were  always  wise  and 
helpful.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Hun- 
terdon County  Bible  Society  in  1816,  uniformly 
one  of  its  most  active  supporters,  and  for  many 
years  to  the  time  of  his  death,  its  Secretary.  He 
was  among  the  earliest  and  most  energetic  pro- 
moters of  the  Temperance  Eeformation,  and 
cheerfully  responded  to  frequent  calls  to  lecture 
and  preach  on  that  subject  in  Hunterdon  and  the 
adjacent  counties.  Without  attempting  learned 
discussion  or  indulging  in  nice  metaphysical  ab- 


64  KIRKPATIUCK  MEMORIAL. 

stractions,  he  laid  hold  of  the  giant  evil  in  the 
concrete,  and  sought  to  apply  a  practical  remedy 
that  would  be  effectual.  To  his  people  he  was  a 
ready  helper  in  every  way.  He  wrote  their  wills, 
and  deeds  and  leases ;  gave  them  legal  counsel  to 
the  extent  of  his  knowledge  of  the  law  which  he 
had  studied  three  years,  and  with  a  degree  of  wis- 
dom, disinterestedness  and  affection  extremely  rare 
imparted  to  them  advice,  such  as  they  needed,  in 
both  their  temporal  and  spiritual  concerns.  He 
was  ever  ready  for  any  good  work,  and  willing  to 
deny  himself  to  almost  any  extent  for  the  welfare 
of  others,  and  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of 
Christ. 

It  may  here  be  added  that  on  the  ground  which 
he  began  to  cultivate  in  1810,  there  are  now  six 
Presbyterian  Churches,  one  Protestant  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  three  Baptist  Churches,  and  five 
Methodist  Churches. 

A  communication  from  the  Pev.  Samuel  M. 
Osmond,  the  colleague  of  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  giving 
his  views  and  impressions,  is  here  inserted. 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRTCK,  D.  D.         65 

.   He  says:  "I  was  providentially  brought  into 

intimate  association  with  both  the  subjects  of  the 

proposed  Memorial,  more  especially  with  Dr.  K., 

as   his   colleague   for   four   years.     I   can  recall 

nothing  that  transpired  in  my  intercourse  with 

either   of   them   that   brings   up   an   unpleasant 

thought,  or  casts  the  slightest  shadow  upon  their 

revered  and  cherished  memories. 

"My  acquaintance  was  first  with  the  son,  and 

through  him  with  his  venerable  father.     During 

the  Senior  year  in  College,  and  through  the  whole 

of, the  Seminary  course,  I   was  a  classmate  of 

Jacob.     Your  proposed  Memorial  will  need  no 

additional  testimony  such  as  I  might  oifer  to  do 

justice  to  his  high  order  of  talent,  his  brilliant 

wit,  his  consistent  devoted  piety,  or  to  illustrate 

the  characteristics  of  this  stage  of  his  too  brief 

career. 

"As  our  Seminary  course  was  approaching  its 

close,  it  occurred  that  the  congregations  of  the 

United  First  and   Second  churches  of  Amwell 

yielded  to  the  request  to  call  a  co-pastor.     The 
6  * 


66  KmKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

thoughts  of  the  people  with  one  accord  turned 
to  Jacob,  who,  had  he  consented,  would  have  re- 
ceived a  unanimous  and  enthusiastic  call.  It  was, 
however,  his  conviction,  that  a  stranger  might  do 
better;  and  it  was  at  his  suggestion,  without  my 
knowledge  of  any  arrangement  of  the  kind,  I 
was  invited  to  spend  a  Sabbath  with  them.  The 
result  was  that,  in  June,  1853,  I  was  ordained 
and  installed  as  associate  pastor  with  Dr.  Kirk- 
patrick,  a  position  which  I  occupied  until  my 
impaired  health  seemed  to  render  a  change  neces- 
sary. That  change  was  made  at  the  cost  of  one 
of  the  sorest  trials  of  my  affections  that  life's 
vicissitudes  have  ever  brought. 

"I  shall  never  forget  my  first  sight  of  Dr.  Kirk- 
patrick.  The  train  had  been  detained,  and  it  was 
at  a  late  hour  on  Saturday  night,  previous  to  the 
day  I  was  to  preach  for  the  Amwell  people,  that 
I  found  myself  at  the  door  of  the  well-known 
Ringoes  Parsonage.  I  was  a  somewhat  modest 
young  man,  and  it  was  not  without  a  degree  of 
trepidation  I  knocked  for  admission.     The  door 


BEV.  JACOB  KlPdx PATRICK,  D.  I).  67 

was  speedily  opened  by  the  Doctor  himself.  The 
first  glance  at  that  benevolent,  beaming  face,  the 
warm  pressure  of  his  hand,  his  affectionate  words 
of  greeting  gave  me  more  than  re-assurance. 

"  I  needed  nothing  more  to  make  me  feel  per- 
fectly at  home.  I  was  in  love  at  first  sight,  and 
had  I  after  the  first  moments  of  that  reception 
been  called  upon  to  decide  whether  or  not  I  would 
be  his  colleague,  I  should  have  waited  for  no 
stronger  guaranty  that  the  relationship  would  be 
a  most  agreeable  one  so  far  as  he  was  concerned, 
than  these  first  impressions  had  already  given  me. 

"Nor  did  I  ever  have  cause  to  modify  those  im- 
pressions. Years  of  close,  endearing,  sacred  in- 
tercourse only  deepened  them.  They  will  last 
while  memory  lasts. 

"  The  Doctor  lived  in  the  Parsonage  at  Ringoes. 
My  residence  was  in  the  bounds  of  the  Second 
Church,  near  Mount  Airy.  We  each  preached 
on  alternate  Sabbaths  at  the  two  churches.  On 
Communion  occasions  the  two  congregations  united 
in  the  service,  and  I  was  thus  furnished  with  the 


68  KIBKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

principal  opportunities  I  enjoyed  for  hearing  the 
Doctor  preach.  His  sermons  were  constructed 
with  great  simplicity,  were  never  wholly  written 
out,  but  were  by  no  means  extemporaneous  in  the 
usual  sense  of  that  term.  As  a  preacher,  he  was 
more  practical  than  doctrinal ;  yet  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  gospel  truth  were  never  lost  sight  of, 
and  the  distinctive  views  of  Presbyterians  as  to 
doctrine,  order  and  ordinances  were  kept  before 
the  people  with  such  effect,  as  to  make  them  d&- 
cidedf  though  at  the  same  time  liberal  Presbyte- 
rians. He  had  a  certain  summary^  but  telling, 
way  of  disposing  of  controverted  points — such, 
for  instance,  as  the  mode  of  baptism,  that  I  have 
never  heard  surpassed  for  practical  effectiveness. 
His  people  Avere  thus  in  a  remarkable  degree  pre- 
served from  being  ^carried  away  by  every  wind 
of  doctrine.'  It  was  a  noticeable  fact,  that  every 
now  and  then,  while  proselyting  was  one  of  the 
very  last  things  that  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  could  ever 
be  charged  with,  there  would  be  additions  from 
other  denominations.     Nothing  but  Presbyterian- 


BEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  D.  D.         ^9 

ism  gained  much  foothold,  or  manifested  much 
vigor  of  growth  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Am- 
well  churches. 

^^  An  element  of  power  in  the  Doctor's  preaching 
consisted  in  the  depth  and  tenderness  of  his  emo- 
tional nature.  It  was  evident  that  he  yearned 
over  his  people  with  the  truest  spiritual  affection. 
Often  his  swelling  heart  would  impede  his  utter- 
ance. It  was  no  unusual  occurrence  for  him  to 
weep  as  he  spoke  of  the  love  of  Jesus,  or  gave 
expression  to  the  tender  appeals  of  the  gospel; 
and  none  can  doubt  that 

*  The  tear 
That  fell  on  his  Bible  was  sincere.* 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  earlier  years 
of  his  ministry,  before  his  powers  had  begun  to 
wane  through  age,  he  was  a  more  than  ordinarily 
effective  and  eloquent  preacher.  The  old  people 
of  the  Amwell  and  other  congregations  who  're- 
membered the  former  days,'  had  much  to  say  of 
powerful   sermons   which   they   had    heard   him 


70  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

preach,  generally  from  texts  somewhat  out  of  the 
usual  order. 

"His  nature  was  fervid,  but  he  was  not  moved 
by  mere  impulse.  Principle  regulated  him.  Duty 
was  his  guiding  star.  Her  claims  were  fulfilled 
simply,  promptly,  and  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 
It  would  have  to  be  a  serious  matter  that  would 
prevent  him  from  taking  his  stand  at  the  post  of 
duty.  Insuperable  obstacles  only  kept  him  away 
from  meetings  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  of  which  he 
was  a  "member,  and  the  money  he  took  from  his 
moderate  salary  to  defray  the  expenses,  would 
alone  have  made  a  handsome  patrimony  for  his 
family.  He  would  cross  swollen  streams,  find  a 
path  through  huge  snow-drifts,  encounter  driving 
storms  and  imperil  health  and  life,  but  he  would 
not  fail  of  his  apj)ointments  if  it  was  possible  to 
keep  them.  He  had  once  arranged  with  a  brother 
who  had  not  half  his  years  for  an  exchange.  The 
day  was  very  unpleasant;  the  young  brother 
thought  it  entirely  too  bad  to  turn  out;  but  punc- 
tual to  the  hour  of  service  the  old  Doctor  was  on 


REV.  JACOB  KIBKPATBICK,  D.  D.         71 

hand  to  fulfil  his  part  of  the  contract,  and  to 
teach  the  mortified  brother  a  lesson,  he  would  not 
be  likely  soon  to  forget. 

"  As  however  age  crept  on  he  shrank  more  and 
more  from  wearisome  journeys  and  exposure  to 
wintry  storms.  The  self-sacrifice  involved  in 
such  duties  became  painful,  but  none  the  less  did 
he  go  steadily  forward,  and  even  after  he  was 
eighty  years  old  he  performed  labors  and  encoun- 
tered hardships  that  would  have  taxed  the  powers 
of  many  a  youthful  pastor. 

^'  He  was  a  patriarch  among  his  people.  They 
came  to  him  with  their  troubles  as  children  would 
come  to  a  father ;  and  he  composed  their  difficul- 
ties, soothed  their  sorrows,  and  was  ever  ready  to 
do  anything  in  his  power  for  their  benefit  or 
direction. 

*^I  can  hardly  trust  myself  to  speak  of  Dr. 
Kirkpatrick  as  I  knew  him  at  his  own  home. 
His  hospitality,  his  thoughtful  kindness,  his  affec- 
tionate yet  ever  gentlemanly  bearing,  his  enter- 
taining conversation  full  of  anecdote  and  remi- 


72  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

niscences  of  other  days  are  rarely  surpassed. 
There  was  something  about  the  old  Parsonage  at 
Ringoes  that  had  for  me  and  my  wife  an  irre- 
sistible attraction.  In  our  rides  through  the 
congregation,  we  were  almost  always  sure  to  find 
ourselves  there,  if  but  for  a  few  pleasant  moments 
before  our  return,  and  never  did  we  fail  of  such 
welcome  as  to  make  us  feel  perfectly  at  home. 
The  Doctor  was  not  the  only  element  of  attract- 
iveness that  drew  us  thither.  All  that  have  ever 
shared  our  good  fortune  will  recall  other  dear 
ones  of  that  peaceful  home  like-minded  with  its 
revered  head,  and  there  will  be  many  to  breathe 
the  sigh  of  regret  that  the  delightful  circle  has  at 
last  been  broken,  which  has  so  often  been  opened 
for  the  admission  alike  of  friend  and  stranger. 

"  It  has  been  my  privilege  thrice  to  re-visit  New 
Jersey  since  my  removal  to  the  West.  I  could 
notice  the  change  that  years  were  making  on  the 
inmates  of  the  parsonage.  Age  was  tracing  deeper 
lines  on  the  brow  of  the  venerable  Pastor.  The 
companions  of  his  earlier  years  were  fast  passing 


MEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  D.  D.         73 

away.  The  feeling  that  he  was  a  stranger  and  a 
pilgrim  was  evidently  growing  upon  him.  But 
there  was  no  repining,  no  sadness;  nothing  but 
the  peaceful  waiting  of  a  spirit,  disengaged  from 
most  of  life's  ties,  lingering  yet  on  the  shore  on 
which  he  had  seen  so  many  friends  of  other  days 
set  sail,  Avith  his  own  sails  outspread  for  the 
breeze.  There  was  no  restless  impatient  longing, 
but  simple  acquiescence  with  the  divine  will  only, 
'choosing  rather  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ.' '' 

A  letter  from  his  son-in-law,  J.  G.  Bowne,  of 
Oakdale,  New  Jersey,  furnished  me  with  the  par- 
ticulars of  his  sickness  and  death,  with  an  extract 
from  which  I  will  bring  this  imperfect  tribute  to 
our  beloved  father  to  a  close  : 

"During  the  last  part  of  autumn  he  told  me 
he  was  not  as  well  as  he  had  been,  and  he  feared 
he  would  not  be  able  to  attend  to  his  parochial 
duties  during  the  winter.  We  noticed  that  his 
appetite  failed,  and   he  complained   of  constant 


74  KlRKl  'J  TRICK  MEMOR I A  L. 

nansea  and  distress  at  his  stomach.  His  pipe* 
(of  which  you  know  he  was  fond)  was  laid  aside, 
and  his  flesh  wasted  from  his  body.  His  decline 
was  very  gradual  He  preached  his  last  sermon 
on  the  first  Sabbath  of  January  from  Job  xvi.  22, 
^  AVhen  a  few  years  are  come,  then  I  shall  go  the 
way  whence  I  shall  not  return.'  I  sa^v  him  often 
and  was  satisfied  that  he  was  going  down,  althoiigh 
he  seemed  to  think  he  might  again  preach.  He 
was  perfectly  resigned,  had  no  fear  nor  even  wish 
as  to  the  final  issue  of  his  disease.  He  said — The 
loving  Saviour  whom  he  had  tried  to  serve  sixty 
years  would  not  forsake  him  now.  He  spent 
much  of  the  time  in  the  room  w^ith  his  family, 
walking  without  assistance  from  his  bed-room 
several  times  each  day.  He  conducted  family 
worship  regularly,  and  on  the  Saturday  evening 

*  Dr.  K.  never  used  tobacco  until  his  thirtieth  year.  It  was 
prescribed  by  his  physician  for  the  astlima,  from  which  distress- 
ing malady  he  jvas  at  times  a  great  sufferer.  He  was  not  an  apo- 
logist for  the  habit,  but  his  advice  to  a  mere  amateur  at  smoking 
//v(.s  lliiit  Tie  would  do  loell  to  let  it  alone. 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATEWK,  D.  B.  75 

before  he  died  he  could  not  rise  without  help. 
The  family  were  much  alarmed  thinking  it  was 
palsy,  but  in  relating  the  circumstance  to  me  on 
Monday,  he  said  ^  It  was  only  a  sleepy  feeling  in 
one  of  his  ankles/  He  prayed  with  his  family, 
as  usual,  on  Tuesday  night.  May  1st,  and  slept 
comfortably  until  three  o'clock  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, when  mother  discovered  he  was  awake.  He 
told  her  his  head  hurt  him.  It  was  his  last  word. 
He  was  unconscious,  after  that  folded  his  arms  on 
his  breast,  laid  entirely  still,  and  Mr.  Schenck 
who  stood  by  his  bed-side,  told  me  that  he  died 
so  quietly  he  could  not  tell  the  moment  when." 

Thus,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  2d  day  of 
May,  1866,  this  venerable  servant  of  God  went 
to  his  rest.  The  funeral  took  place  on  Saturday, 
May  5th,  the  services  at  the  house  being  con- 
ducted by  the  writer  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Kirk- 
patrick  who  was  unable  to  go  out.  At  the  church 
before  a  large  audience,  including  several  clergy- 
men, the  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Rev.  Peter  O.  Studdiford,  D.  D.,  from  2  Cor. 


76  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

viii.  16,  "Thanks  be  to  God,  which  put  the  same 
earnest  care  into  the  licart  of  Titus  for  you.'^ 
The  devotional  exercises  were  conducted  by  Dr. 
John  L.  Janeway  and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Burrows, 
Spayd,  and  Gardiner,  and  Dr.  Janeway  delivered 
an  address  at  the  grave.  The  elders  of  the  church 
bore  the  remains  to  their  final  resting  place.  The 
people  of  his  late  charge  begged  the  privilege  of 
defraying  the  funeral  expenses,  and  are  making 
arrangements  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  monu- 
ment to  his  memory.  His  colleague,  the  Rev. 
William  J.  Wright,  now  successor  in  the  pastoral 
office  preached  a  Memorial  Sermon  on  the  27th 
of  May  following,  from  Psalm  cxlix.  4,  "  He  will 
beautify  the  meek  with  salvation." 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1860,  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  his  ordination,  Dr.  Kirkpatrick 
preached  a  historical  sermon  which  he  concluded 
with  these  words :  "  I  have  looked  to  yonder 
grave-yard  as  the  place  where  the  resurrection 
morn  will  find  me ;  and  if  I  arise  in  the  likeness 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  D.  D.  77 

of  Jesus  to  his  name  be  all  the  glory/'     Precious 
man ! 

"  Sweet  is  the  savor  of  his  name, 
And  soft  his  sleeping  bed." 

Amid  all  the  agitations  and  strifes  in  Church 
and  State  he  strove  to  the  utmost  to  "  keep  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."  His 
was  a  united  people  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  his  ministry,  and  in  answer  to  his  prayers 
may  they  ever  so  continue.  He  earnestly  longed 
for  the  day  when  the  watchmen  upon  the  walls 
of  Zion  should  "  see  eye  to  eye ;"  when  the  bar- 
riers which  separate  the  friends  of  Christ  on  earth 
should  be  broken  down ;  and  when  all  men, 
dwelling  in  concord,  should  love  one  another  with 
pure  hearts  fervently.  Lovely,  loving  and  be- 
loved, he  has  found  a  home  in  just  such  a  world 
as  his  soul  desired,  where,  in  the  presence  of  the 
God  of  love  in  whom  he  delighted,  he  has  joined 
multitudes  for  whose  salvation  he  wept  and 
prayed,  where  friendship  cannot  die,  and  perfect 

love  shall  for  ever  reign. 

7* 


Ill, 

n^V.  JACOB  KIRKFATSICK,  Jr. 

rpHE  Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  Jr.,  the  eighth 
-*-  son  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  D.  D., 
was  born  October  6,  1828,  in  the  village  of  Rin- 
goes,  shortly  before  the  family  removed  to  the 
Craven  property,  which  has  since  been  occupied 
as  the  Parsonage. 

Those  Avho  knew  him  in  his  boyhood  will 
remember  him  as  a  lad  small,  quiet,  silent,  retir- 
ing, yet  closely  observant  of  passing  events,  more 
fond  of  books  than  of  play — bearing  on  his  counte- 
nance lines  of  deep  thought  unusual  for  one  of  his 
years.  The  bright  glances  which  shot  from,  be- 
neath those  drooping  eyelids  revealed  the  intellec- 
tual fire  which  had  already  begun  to  burn  intensely 
within.  Often  did  the  teachers  of  the  public 
school  in  his  native  village,  where  he  acquired 

78 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATEICK,  JR.  79 

the  rudiments  of  his  education,  find  an  over- 
match in  their  modest  pupil,  especially  in  mathe- 
matical calculations. 

He  was  ever  ready  to  do  his  share  of  the  many 
services  needed  in  a  large  family  at  a  country 
parsonage.     If  there  was  any  toilsome  or  unplea- 
sant  task   to   be    performed,   his   willing    mind 
prompted  him  to  be  among  the  first  to  undertake 
it.     He  was  a  most  considerate  and  loving  son, 
an  affectionate  brother,  and  kind  and  gentle  in 
his  treatment  towards  all.     His  childhood  and 
youth  seemed  to  be  "  without  spot  or  blemish.'' 
His  early  companions  could  remember  no  dis- 
honorable, selfish,  or  ungenerous  act,  no  unkind 
word ;  and  his  superiors  in  age  never  could  lay  to 
his  charge  the  utterance  of  a  false  or  profane 
word,  or  the  performance  of  a  deed  foolish,  ma- 
licious, or  in  any  wise  discreditable.     He  was  an 
exception  to  the  old  proverb :  *'  A  prophet  is  not 
without  honor  save  in  his  own  country  and  in  his 
own  house.''     So  fair  was  the  record  of  his  early 
life,  that  if  he  could  have  consented  to  become  the 


80  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

colleague  of  his  father,  he  would  have  commanded 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  people  as  a  ser- 
vant of  God,  while  he  held  a  large  place  in  their 
affections.  But  his  delicate,  sensitive  nature 
shrank  from  the  undertaking,  although  it  would 
have  been  no  small  pleasure  to  him  to  comfort 
and  assist  his  father  in  his  declining  years. 

But  although  his  course  of  life  in  his  youth 
was  so  unexceptionable  he  felt  himself  to  be  a 
sinner  against  God ;  indeed  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  his  upright  conduct  at  this  period  is 
due  not  so  much  to  his  naturally  amiable  dispo- 
sition as  to  the  restraints  of  conscience  and  the 
deep  religious  impressions  to  which  he  was  sub- 
ject from  childhood.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  was  never 
in  the  habit  of  delivering  long  moral  and  reli- 
gious lectures  to  his  children,  indeed  he  said  very 
little  to  them  on  the  subject  of  their  personal 
duty,  but  that  little  was  full  of  meaning  and  to 
the  point.  Next  to  his  own  example  and  that 
of  his  like-minded  help-meet,  was  the  influence 
of  the  Scripture  reading  and  prayer  at  the  family 


BEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  JR.  81 

altar  morning  and  evening.  That  heart  must  be 
hard  that  could  remain  unmoved  while  this  tender 
father  with  strong  emotion  wrestled  with  God 
for  the  salvation  of  his  children  in  their  presence. 
They  could  not  doubt  that  he  sought  for  them 
first  of  all  "  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right- 
eousness/' Such  scenes  often  repeated  could 
scarcely  fail  to  make  an  indelible  impression  the 
effect  of  which  would  some  day  be  manifested. 

The  happy  issue  in  Jacob's  case  was  reached 
when  he  was  just  fifteen  years  of  age,  during  a 
powerful  work  of  grace  which  added  one  hundred 
and  seven  to  the  communion  of  the  churches 
under  his  father's  pastoral  care.  In  the  parlor 
of  the  Old  Parsonage  he  appeared  with  several 
others  before  the  Session  of  the  Amwell  United 
First  Church,  and  after  examination  he  with  two 
of  his  younger  sisters  were  enrolled  as  communi- 
cants on  the  12th  of  October,  1843. 

The  decision  to  make  a  public  profession  of 
religion  was  also  a  determination  to  serve  God  in 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel  of  his  Son.     To  do 


82  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

this,  he,  with  the  advice  of  his  father,  resolved  to 
begin  the  requisite  course  of  preparatory  study. 
The  necessary  steps  having  been  taken,  within  a 
few  weeks  after  he  had  sat  down  at  the  commu- 
nion table,  he  accompanied  by  his  venerable 
father,  entered  his  name  as  a  pupil  in  the  High 
School  of  the  Messrs.  H.  and  S.  M.  Hamill,  at 
Lawrence vi lie,  New  Jersey.  Here  he  continued 
for  two  and  a-half  years.  A  complete  record  of 
all  his  classical  and  literary  exercises  throughout 
this  period  is  to  be  found  among  the  archives  of 
the  school,  and  a  more  honorable  record  no  pupil 
of  that  Institution  has  ever  been  able  to  exhibit. 
He  stood  "primus  inter  pares.''  Undemonstra- 
tive as  he  was,  his  superior  scholarship  joined 
with  the  high  tone  of  his  consistent  piety  soon 
commanded  the  interested  attention  of  his  fellow 
pupils,  and  awakened  a  high  esteem  which  with- 
out either  envy  or  jealousy,  continued  to  increase 
as  long  as  he  remained.  This  was  a  beautiful 
example  of  the  power  of  unconscious  influence ; 
for  almost  without  knowing  it  he  was  exercising 


REV.  JACOB   KIBKrA TRICK,  JR.  83 

daily  a  controlling  moral  power  over  the  whole 
school.  Had  his  life  ended  when  he  left  Law- 
renceville,  it  could  have  been  truly  said  that  he 
had  not  lived  in  vain. 

After  leaving  the  High  School  he  entered  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  found  com- 
manding the  respect  of  all  as  the  faithful  Chris- 
tian student.  Soon  his  exact  scholarship  and 
close  application  marked  him  out  as  one  of  the 
candidates  for  the  highest  honors  of  his  class ;  but 
the  failure  of  his  eyes  while  a  junior  compelled 
him  to  leave  College  for  a  year,  so  that  he  did  not 
take  his  first  degree  until  1850. 

From  the  College  he  went  directly  to  the  Th^eo- 
logical  Seminary  at  Princeton,  where  he  com- 
pleted the  full  course  of  study  for  the  ministry. 
He  was  licensed  in  the  autumn  of  1852,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Raritan,  of  which  his  father  was  a 
member,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1853,  was  ordained 
as  an  evangelist  by  the  same  Presbytery. 

Upon  leaving  tlie  Theological  Seminary,  he 
was  invited  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  supply 


84  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

for  a  season  the  pulpit  of  the  Rev.  William  L. 
Breckinridge,  D.  D.,  then  pastor  of  the  First 
Church.  Respecting  this  relation,  Dr.  Breckin- 
ridge says:  "I  cannot  forget  that  my  Intercourse 
with  him  was  very  pleasant  In  all  respects,  and 
entirely  satisfactory  to  me;  and  that  from  first  to 
last,  he  made  a  decided  impression  on  us  all  as  a 
young  minister  of  unusual  promise  every  way.'' 

While  some  of  the  people  of  Louisville  were 
contemplating  a  new  church  organization,  and  the 
building  of  a  Presbyterian  house  of  worship,  with 
a  view  to  his  permanent  settlement  among  them, 
he  received  a  call  from  the  Third  Church,  Tren- 
toil,  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  the  Rev. 
Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.  D.  This  call  he  accepted, 
and  was  Installed  pastor,  November  3,  1853. 
Here  he  continued  in  the  active  duties  of  the 
ministry,  preaching,  with  great  acceptance,  to  a 
warmly  attached  people  until  some  time  in  the 
year  1857.  Probably  from  overaction  of  the 
brain,  in  a  physical  frame,  never  robust,  his  ner- 
vous system  became  prostrated,  and  he  lost  almost 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATEWK,  JR.  85 

entirely  the  use  of  his  lower  limbs.  It  was  grati- 
fying to  see  that,  trying  and  painful  as  his  disease 
was,  he  retained  the  full  use  of  liis  nicntai  facul- 
ties, and  was  enabled  to  ^^ possess  his  soul  in  pui- 
tience/'  For  months  he  and  his  people  cherished 
the  hope  of  his  recovery,  and  no  skill  or  means 
which  gave  a  reasonable  promise  of  effecting  a 
cure,  were  by  them  untried.  When  the  issue  of 
his  case  became  more  doubtful,  he  finally  signified 
his  purpose  to  the  Session  and  the  Congregation, 
and  upon  application  to  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  the  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved 
February  3,  1859.  The  assiduous  attention  to 
their  afflicted  pastor  and  the  promptness  with 
which  all  his  wants  were  anticipated  by  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Third  Church,  and  the  substantial 
sympathy  of  other  Presbyterians  in  Trenton,  espe- 
cially those  of  the  First  Church  (Dr.  HalFs)  are 
worthy  of  commemoration.  God  will  surely  re- 
ward such  a  generous  Christian  people  for  their 
unremitting  kindness  to  his  suffering  young  ser- 
vant.    The  Saviour  has  said:  "Inasmuch  as  ye 


8G  KIRKPATEWK  MEMORIAL, 

liave  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren  ye  have  done  it  unto  me/^  Not  only 
the  deed  itself  is  to  be  commended,  but  the  man- 
iKT  and  spirit  with  which  it  was  done. 

Here  it  will  be  proper  to  introduce  three  letters 
of  Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  which  illustrate  some  of  the 
admirable  excellencies  of  his  Christian  character. 
The  first  is  addressed  to  the  Session  of  the  Third 
Church,  Trenton,  and  is  dated, 

"Trenton,  December  31,  1857. 
''Dear  Brethren: — From  the  commence- 
ment of  my  illness  I  have  been  constantly  cherish- 
ing the  hope  of  being  able  in  a  few  months,  to 
resume  my  ministerial  work;  but  have  at  length 
been  constrained  to  abandon  it,  and  therefore  it 
becomes  my  duty  at  once  to  resign  my  pastoral 
charge.  The  design  of  this  note  is  to  request  you 
to  call  the  church  and  congregation  together,  at 
an  early  day,  to  receive  my  resignation,  and  to 
unite  with  me  in  petitioning  the  Presbytery,  at 
their  next  meeting,  (in  Princeton),  to  dissolve  the 
pastoral  relation. 


EEV,  JAVOB  KIBKPATBJCK,  JM.  87 

"Making  this  request  imposes  upon  me  the 
necessity  of  taking  leave  of  you  as  a  Session.  In 
doing  so,  I  dare  not  undertake  to  exprcs.s  the 
emotions  that  are  excited  by  the  prospect  of  sepa- 
ration ;  but  while  I  struggle  to  suppress  these,  it 
is  with  lively  pleasure,  and  with  profound  respect, 
that  I  here  record  my  testimony  to  the  prudence, 
fidelity,  and  brotherly  kindness  and  courtesy  which 
have  uniformly  characterized  you  in  all  the  trans- 
actions and  intercourse  of  the  Session.  This  cor- 
dial co-operation  has  been  one  of  the  distinct 
sources  of  great  satisfaction  which  I  have  enjoyed 
in  this  pastoral  relation. 

"I  deem  it  proper  also,  in  this  connection,  to 
express  my  high  regard  for  the  memory  of  our 
departed  brother,  X.  J.  Maynard,  Esq.  May  the 
Lord  grant  to  each  of  us  as  peaceful  a  departure, 
when  his  appointed  time  shall  come.  It  is  my 
earnest  prayer  that  your  circle  may  long  be  pre- 
served from  another  breach;  that  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  may  thoroughly  qualify  you 
for  every  official  duty ;  that  the  Lord  Jesus  may 


88  KIRKPATIllCK  3IEM0RIAL. 

be  with  you  at  every  meeting,  and  that  you  may 
never  want  tlie  encouragement  which  is  to  be 
found  in  the  visible  prosperity  of  the  beloved 
church  over  which  you  have  been  called  to  rule. 

*^  And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God, 
and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to 
build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance 
among  all  them  which  are  sanctified. 

'^  J.  KlKIvPATmCK,  Je." 

The  second  letter  bears  the  same  date. 

''  To  THE  Third  Presbyterian  Church  : — 
I  hereby  tender  to  you  the  resignation  of  my 
pastoral  charge,  in  so  far  as  I  received  it  from 
you,  and  request  that  you  will  co-operate  with  me 
in  making  application  to  the  Presbytery,  at  their 
next  meeting,  to  dissolve  the  relation  which  they 
instituted  between  us. 

"In  the  severity  of  this  trial,  I  esteem  it  a  re- 
lief that  I  have  no  occasion  to  enter  into  a  formal 
vindication  of  my  motives^  in  order  to  guard  against 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATEICK,  JR.  89 

the  accusations  and  suspicions  which  often  beset 
those  who  are  exchanging  one  pastoral  charge  for 
another.  And  yet,  unnecessary  as  it  may  be,  I 
cannot  refrain  from  saying  that,  so  far  as  my 
knowledge  extends,  there  is  no  situation  in  life 
for  which  I  would  voluntarily  have  exchanged 
the  charge  of  this  beloved  church. 

"On  the  other  hand,  I  may  well  assign  the 
reason  why  I  have  withheld  this  resignation  so 
long,  although  unable  to  render  you  any  service. 
It  is  this  alone — I  have  been  led  to  postpone  it 
from  time  to  time  by  the  persistent  hope  of  being 
able  to  resume  my  work  comparatively  soon.  The 
extinction  of  that  hope  has  left  me  no  alternative 
but  to  bring  myself  to  the  stern  necessity  of  leav- 
ing you,  I  beg  you  to  overlook  the  blank  which 
my  weakness  obliges  me  to  leave  here,  where  you 
might  naturally  expect  an  expression  of  my  feel- 
ings, and  to  pray  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  trust 
and  adore  the  mysterious  wisdom  and  sublime 
sovereignty  of  that  Providence  which  has  thwarted 
my  hopes  and  swept  my  plans  into  confusion,  to 

8  * 


90  KIRKFATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

make  way  for  the  infinitely  better  pnrjwses  of 
God. 

"  Be  assured  of  my  exquisite  appreciation  of  the 
confidence  with  which  you  first  received  me,  the 
respectful  and  affectionate  treatment  which  I  have 
uniformly  enjoyed  in  the  midst  of  you,  the  indul- 
gent spirit  with  which  you  have  borne  with  my 
frailties  and  defects,  and  the  noble  liberality  with 
which  you  have  provided  for  my  personal  and 
domestic  comfort. 

"While  I  cannot  forget  the  responsibility 
under  which  I  have  often  been  bowed  down  to 
the  dust,  and  the  inefficiency  with  which  I  have 
represented  the  cause  of  Christ,  yet  my  mind  will 
never  recur  to  my  ministry  here  without  filling 
itself  with  pleasant  memories.  It  is  my  earnest 
prayer  and  confident  expectation  that  the  Lord 
will  send  you  a  far  worthier  and  more  efficient 
pastor,  and  that  your  beloved  church  will  be 
built  up,  and  strengthened,  and  purified  abun- 
dantly, and  always  to  the  glory  of  the  grace  of 
God.     I  leave  you  with  undiminished  solicitude 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  JR.  91 

for  the  spiritual  welfare  and  salvation  of  every 
individual  in  the  congregation,  and  must  say  to 
each  once  more,  ^Behold  the  Lamb  of  God/ 
*  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
be  with  you  all.     Amen/ 

"J.  KiRKPATRICK,  Jr.'' 

"  P.  S.  It  is  my  desire  that  you  will  omit  the 
customary  resolutions  of  esteem  and  regret,  etc. 
Not  because  I  should  for  a  moment  doubt  the 
perfect  sincerity  of  what  you  might  see  fit  to  ex- 
press in  that  form,  but  for  reasons  drawn  entirely 
from  other  cases  by  which  the  custom  is  dis- 
honored. I  shall  be  gratified,  and  shall  consider 
myself  sufficiently  distinguished  if  you  will  tacitly 
comply  with  my  request. 

"J.  K.,  Jr.'' 

The  third  communication  was  sent  in  acknow- 
ledgement of  the  provision  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars  contributed  by  that  people  for  the  support 
of  his  family. 


92  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

"Trenton,  January  \bth^  1858. 
"To  THE  Third  Church  and  Congrega- 
tion : — I  have  been  informed  by  one  of  the  elders, 
of  the  very  generous  provision  which  you  have 
been  pleased  to  make  for  the  support  and  comfort 
of  my  family  during  the  time  which  it  is  expected 
will  be  required  for  the  restoration  of  my  health. 
I  seem  to  be  obliged  by  circumstances  to  speak 
of  myself  much  more  than  I  desire — indulge  me 
thus  far.  The  physical  suffering,  the  tedious  con- 
finement, and  consequent  privations  which  Provi- 
dence has  most  righteously  imposed  upon  me,  I 
have  been  enabled  to  bear  with  a  good  degree  of 
composure ;  under  the  far  heavier  trial  of  resign- 
ing my  pastoral  charge,  and  renouncing  the  hope 
of  a  happy  and  useful  life  in  the  midst  of  you,  I 
have  been  enabled  to  retain  my  self-possession  in 
a  considerable  measure;  but  by  this  expression 
of  kind  solicitude  and  sincere  affection,  with 
which  you  are  pleased  to  follow  me  in  my  de- 
parture, I  have  been  overwhelmed.  I  take  this 
method  of  assuring  you  of  the  grateful  love  which 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATBICK,  JB.  93 

I  dare  not  undertake   to   express  personally  to 
individuals. 

"  My  whole  heart  and  soul  are  filled  with  the 
fervent  prayer  that  God,  in  the  infinitude  of  his 
goodness  and  mercy  will  return  this  kindness  to 
you  a  thousand  fold  in  this  world,  and  ten  thou- 
sand in  the  next.     Yours,  as  ever,  and  for  ever. 

"  J.  KiKKPATRICK,  Je.^ 


jy 


"  P.  S.  As  I  am  constrained  in  a  great  measure 
to  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  giving  vent  to  my 
feelings,  I  reluctantly  request  that  my  friends  will 
endeavor  to  treat  me  as  though  I  were  not  going 
to  leave  them  soon,  without  any  fear  that  I  will 
misconstrue  the  seeming  unconcern. 

"J.  K.,  Jr.'' 

Upon  the  settlement  of  his  successor,  he  re- 
moved his  family  from  Trenton  to  reside  with  an 
elder  brother  near  Ringoes.  Here  a  new  trial 
came  upon  him.  That  sweet  and  estimable 
woman,  Sarah  Catharine  Vanliew,  to  whom  he 
had   been   united  in   marriage  in  the  spring  of 


94  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

1853,  wasted  rapidly  with  disease,  and  died 
]\Iarc]i  20,  1859.  Her  remains  were  taken  to 
Trenton  and  laid  in  the  Mercer  Cemetery.  After 
this,  he  and  his  only  child,  the  now  motherless 
daughter,  w^ere  taken  to  the  Parsonage  to  be 
under  the  care  of  his  venerated  parents  and  affec- 
tionate sisters. 

In  reply  to  a  kind  letter  of  inquiry  from  the 
Hon.  Edward  W.  Scudder,  (now  a  ruling  elder 
in  the  Third  Church,)  he  speaks  in  a  most  touch- 
ing manner  of  his  peculiar  trials. 

"RiNGOES,  April  2^th,  1859. 
"Mr.  E.  W.  Scudder— My  dear  Sir:  You 
know  already  why  I  could  not  answer  you 
sooner.  The  little  I  can  now  write  you  w^ill 
expect  to  be,  I  suppose,  concerning  myself.  I 
have  no  dismal  story  to  tell.  I  have  lost  my 
health,  my  church,  my  home,  and  my  precious 
wife  but  not  my  Saviour. 

"  *  He  neA'er  takes  away  our  all, 
Himself  he  gives  us  still.* 


BEV.  JACOB  KJBKPATBWK,  JB.  95 

"  In  all  my  afflictions  I  see  nothing  but  the 
glory  of  God,  his  majestic  sovereignty,  infinite 
wisdom,  righteousness,  and  love.  In  all  my 
mourning  I  am  filled  with  wonder,  love  and 
praise.  All  this  would  be  miseiable  egotism  but 
for  one  thing — ^the  poor  Ego  is  put  to  shame — it 
is  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  that  is  given  unto 
me.  To  Him  be  all  the  praise.  My  health  is 
considerably  better  than  during  the  winter.  I 
am  stronger  and  can  take  a  few  steps  with  more 
ease  than  at  any  time  in  sixteen  months.  I  ex- 
pect to  go  to  my  father's  next  week  to  spend  the 
summer  if  I  live.  With  kindest  regards  to  your 
family,  I  am  yours,  sincerely. 

"J.  KiRKPATRICK,  Jr.^' 

Let  the  afflicted  and  bereaved  take  courage 
when  they  see  the  steadfastness  and  serenity  of 
spirit  of  one  placed  in  such  affecting  circum- 
stances. Let  skepticism  retire  abashed,  if  not 
convinced,  by  such  a  triumph  of  divine  grace. 
To  hear  a  man  whose  character  from  infancy  u[)- 


9G  KIRKPATEICK  MEMORIAL. 

ward  had  been  without  one  stain,  and  wliose  sin- 
gular devotion  to  his  INIaster's  work  was  enough 
to  oau^e  ordinary  men  to  blush  with  shame,  de- 
claring with  the  utmost  sincerity  amid  an  accumu- 
lation of  sorrows  that  he  deserved  all  that  he 
suffered,  and  that  to  him  there  was  nothing  mys- 
terious in  God's  trying  dispensations  towards 
him,  must  convince  the  most  thoughtless  that  in 
him  there  were  humility  and  child-like  faith  of 
no  common  grade,  and  a  strength  of  soul  which 
noticing  but  the  power  of  a  gracious  God  could 
bestow. 

Two  weeks  before  his  death  he  called  his  aged 
father  to  his  bed-side  and  said,  "  Father,  I  am 
now  dying.  Up  to  this  hour  I  thought  the  Lord 
\vould  raise  me  up  to  preach  the  gospel  a  little 
longer ;  but  it  is  not  his  will.  I  desire  to  preach 
once  to  the  Third  Church  of  Trenton  after  I  am 
dead.  Tell  them — I  mean  them  all,  whether 
now  of  the  Third  Church  or  the  Fourth — tell 
them  I  love  them  all.  I  have  not  ceased  to  pray 
lor  them  to  the  latest  breath,  that  they  may  live 


REV.  JACOB  KIEKPATRICK,  JR.  97 

in  peace,  and  that  the  God  of  peace  may  be  witli 
them.  I  wish  you  to  see  that  my  body  follows 
tliat  of  my  beloved  wife.  I  desire  no  eulog^^ — no 
parade.  I  have  been  a  great  sinner ;  ^  by  the 
grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am.' "  On  a  subsequent 
occasion  after  his  father  had  laid  him  in  as  easy  a 
condition  as  possible,  with  each  arm  resting  on  a 
pillow,  being  "just  on  the  verge  of  heaven,'^  he 
said,  "  Now  leave  me  with  my  Saviour  and 
He  will  take  care  of  me;''  and  in  that 
peaceful  confidence  his  spirit  gently  passed  away. 
The  precious  remains  were  removed  from 
Ringoes  to  Trenton  on  the  31st  of  October,  under 
the  direction  of  his  trusty  friend  Benjamin  S. 
Disbrow,  Esqr.,  and  placed  in  front  of  the  pulpit 
of  the  Third  Church.  Here  crowds  gathered 
around,  to  take  the  last  look  at  that  countenance 
yet  mild,  benign  and  heavenly  in  death.  It  was 
an  aifecting  scene.  The  falling  tear,  and  the 
grief  depicted  on  the  faces  of  all,  especially  of 
several  of  the  humble  poor,  manifested  the 
sincerity  of  their  attachment,  for  they  "  sorrowed 


98  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

most   of  all,  that   they  should   see  his  face   no 


more/' 


Tie  funeral  services  were  commenced  by  a 
Voluntary  by  the  choir  and  the  singing  of  the 
519th  hymn  :  ^'  Hear  what  the  voice  from  heaven 
])roclaims/'  etc.,  after  which  the  second  chapter  of 
the  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  was  read  by 
the  Rev.  A.  D.  White,  then  pastor  of  the  Second 
Church.  This  portion  of  Scripture  contains,  as 
w^as  justly  stated,  a  remarkably  truthful  exhibi- 
tion in  almost  every  particular  of  the  character 
of  Mr.  Kirkpatrick's  ministry.  After  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  Henry  B.  Chapin,  then  pastor  of  the 
Third  Church,  the  funeral  sermon  was  preached 
by  the  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First 
church  from  the  farewell  address  of  the  apostle 
Paul  to  the  church  at  Ephesus :  "  And  now,  be- 
hold I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have 
gone  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my 
face  no  more.  Wherefore  I  take  you  to  record 
this  day  that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all 
men,  for  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you 


REV.  JACOB  KIEKPATEICK,  J 11  99 

all  tile  counsel  of  God/'  The  solemn  lessons 
drawn  from  these  words,  as  connected  with  the 
example  of  the  deceased  in  life  and  in  deatli,  will 
not  soon  be  forgotten  by  any  whose  privilege  it 
was  to  mingle  their  tears  with  that  deeply  moved 
assembly. 

The  discourse  was  followed  by  some  well-timed 
remarks  of  the  Rev.  P.  O.  Studdiford,  D.  D.,  of 
Lambertville,  who  had  known  Mr.  Kirkpatrick 
from  his  infancy.  The  concluding  prayer  w^as 
oiiered  hy  the  Rev.  Edward  D.  Yeomans,  D.  D., 
then  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Church,  and  the  exer- 
cises closed  by  singing  the  625th  hymn,  "  O  for 
the  death  of  those,"  etc.,  and  the  Benediction. 

The  funeral  procession  then  moved  to  the 
Mercer  Cemetery,  (the  Ruling  Elders  of  the 
Third  Church  acting  as  bearers)  embracing  about 
twenty  ministers  of  the  gospel,  the  elders  of  the 
churches  of  Trenton  and  vicinity  with  many 
relatives ;  and  there,  agreeably  to  his  dying  request, 
he  w^s  laid  by  the  side  of  his  wife.  The  Rev. 
Eli  F.  Cooley,  D.  D.,  then  made  a  brief  address ; 


100  KIRKPATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

and  with  the  benediction  ended  one  of  the'  most 
touching  and  instructive  funeral  services  the  writer 
has  ever  attended. 

Our  lamented  friend  was  a  laborious  minister 
of  Jesus.  This  is  evident  in  both  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  his  sermons  and  other  manuscripts. 
With  an  eye  single  to  his  Master's  service,  his 
work  was  varied  in  character  according  to  wiiat, 
in  his  judgment,  the  circumstances  demanded. 
At  one  time  we  find  him  delivering  a  well- written 
Temperance  Address ;  at  another  an  address  before 
a  society  for  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  Minis- 
terial Education;  and  at  another  a  I^ecture  of 
much  ability  on  "  The  Relations  of  Language  to 
History."  That  he  prepared  thoroughly  for  the 
Bible  Classes  which  he  heard,  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
pertinent  notes  he  has  left  behind.  In  his  sermon 
from  the  words :  "  Render  therefore  unto  Csesar 
the  things  which  be  Caesar's  and  unto  God  tlie 
things  which  be  God's,"  we  have  a  manly,  dis- 
criminating and  fearless  vindication  of  the  right 
and  duty  of  the  Ambassador  of  Christ  to  press 


REV.  JACOB  KIBKFATRICK,  JR.  IQl 

lioiiic  upon  the  consciences  of  men  their  obliga- 
tions as  citizens  notwithstanding  the  hue  and  ciy 
raised  about  "  political  preaching.'^ 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Blackburn  has  briefly  stated  in 
tlie  preface  some  of  the  impressions  received  from 
an  examination  of  his  manuscript  Sermons,  and 
having  learned  much  from  the  former  parishioners 
of  the  Kev.  Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  he  has  furnished 
me  with  the  following,  in  reference  to  him  as  a 
preacher. 

"He  was  an  Apollos,  ^an  eloquent  man,  and 
mighty  in  the  Scriptures.  This  man  was  in- 
structed in  the  way  of  the  Lord ;  and  being 
fervent  in  spirit,  he  spake  and  taught  diligently 
the  things  of  the  Lord.'  But  he  knew  more 
than  ^  the  baptism  of  John,'  and  he  needed  none 
to  take  him  aside  and  ^  expound  unto  him  the 
way  of  God  more  perfectly.'  With  the  great 
doctrines  and  Scriptural  statements  of  redemption 
he  was  so  familiar  that,  when  dealing  with  these 
high  themes,  his  preparations  for  the  pulpit  were 
usually  the  merest  notes,  suggestive  words  and 

9  * 


102  klRKPATRlCK  MEMORIAL. 

phrases.  In  preaching  from  his  more  fully  written 
manuscript  he  gave  the  people  his  searching  eye, 
and  his  energetic  soul.  He  poured  forth  his 
thoughts  as  a  broken  cloud  pours  down  the  rain. 
Forgetting  oratory,  he  was  a  true  orator ;  almost 
negligent  of  rhetoric  as  a  mere  art,  he  illustrated  its 
real  power,  for  he  hastily  grasped  whatever  would 
make  clearer  his  subject,  and  threw  it  into  the 
torrent  of  his  words.  Soaring  aloft  in  his  thoughts, 
he  was  still  with  the  people,  near  to  them,  and 
coming  nearer,  that  he  might  send  home  the 
truth  to  their  hearts.  As  when  on  his  couch 
suffering,  so  when  in  the  pulpit  preaching,  he  lost 
sight  of  himself;  God  was  all,  his  glory  Avas  the 
absorbing  theme.  He  fixed  his  eye  on  sinners, 
and  thought  how  they  ^  came  short  of  the  glory 
of  God,'  and  how  blind  they  were  to  the  ruin  be- 
fore them  ;  the  tears  gathered  as  he  warned  them 
of  the  ^  wrath  to  come ;'  the  lip  quivered  as  he 
pointed  them  to  the  throne  of  judgment;  the  tone 
of  his  voice  softened  as  he  entreated  them  to  ^  pre- 
pare to  meet  their  God,'  and  his  whole  soul  was 


BEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  7B.         103 

moved  when  lie  told  them   how  God  might  be 
glorified  in  their  salvation, 

"  Unassuming  at  all  times,  he  stood  in  the  pul- 
pit with  ^  much  trembling/  But  the  Divine  word 
and  grace  gave  him  an  unusual  ^  holy  boldness' 
in  declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  He  spake 
directly  to  the  hearer,  aiming  at  the  conscience. 
His  eloquence  was  only  a  force  in  using  the  ^  ham- 
mer' of  the  Word.  His  earnestness  made  it  '  a 
fire'  that  kindled  on  the  whole  soul.  His  imagi- 
nation,  of  which  he  had  a  true  poet's  share,  was 
but  the  wing  to  the  arrow  of  truth.  His  fine 
command  of  language  was  employed  to  give  effect 
to  the  very  words  of  Scripture,  which  he  quoted 
with  powerful  adaptation.  His  keen  j)erception 
of  what  lay  hidden  in  a  text,  and  his  wonderful 
method  of  applying  it  to  everybody,  enabled  him 
to  divide  unto  saints  and  sinners  their  portion. 
It  was  often  said  that  he  applied  it  so  closely  and 
universally,  that  not  a  soul  escaped.  He  fre- 
quently chose  a  short  interrogative  text  and  made 
it  the  point  of  many  a  sentence,  the  climax  of 


104  KIBKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

many  a  paragraph,  the  arrow  in  many  an  appeal, 
and  caused  it  to  ring  again  and  again  in  the  car 
of  the  listener. 

"  In  preaching  theology  he  avoided  the  abstract 
method,  and  applied  the  great  doctrines  of  tlie 
gospel,  at  once,  to  every  class  of  his  hearers,  to 
their  wants,  their  sins  and  their  sorrows.  He 
sought  to  convince,  persuade  and  secure  a  practi- 
cal obedience.  Men  must  know  their  natures, 
their  depravities,  their  transgressions,  and  their 
ruinous  habits ;  therefore  he  cried  aloud  and  spared 
not.  He  laid  hold  of  the  evils  in  society,  the 
sins  of  the  times,  the  commercial  dishonesties,  the 
public  vices,  and  the  national  iniquities.  He  was 
a  reformer,  but  his  idea  of  a  genuine  reformation 
was,  first  of  all,  regeneration  of  the  soul  and 
sanctification  of  the  life.  Nothing  short  of  this 
would  prove  an  eternal  benefit.  As  a  specimen 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  dealt  with  the  popular 
sins,  a  quotation  is  here  made  from  his  sermon  on 
Temperance.  It  was  delivered  October  29, 1854, 
at  a  time  when  the  subject  was  unfortunately  en- 


EEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  JR  105 

tangled  with  politics.  Only  the  first  part  of  it 
was  written  in  full,  and  when  he  was  repeatedly 
urged  to  prepare  it  for  the  press,  he  positively  de- 
clined. 

"  His  text  was  1  Corinthians  vi.  10 :  ^  Nor 
drunkards  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.' 
In  order  to  give  it  point  he  cited  the  whole  pas- 
sage :  ^  Know  ye  not  that  the  unrighteous  shall 
not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God?  Be  not  de- 
ceived :  neither  fornicators  nor  idolaters,  nor 
adulterers,  nor  effeminate,  nor  abusers  of  them- 
selves with  mankind,  nor  thieves,  nor  covetous, 
nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners, 
shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.'  He  then 
said : 

" '  Whenever  it  can  be  shown  to  be  unjustifi- 
able, or  unimportant  to  preach  against  idolatry, 
licentiousness,  covetousness,  and  extortion,  then, 
but  not  before,  the  preacher  may  be  fairly  called 
upon  to  apologize  for  lifting  up  the  warning  voice 
from  the  pulpit,  against  intemperance,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.     Until  public  sentiment  can 


106  KIBKPATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

(^ODsecrate  all  the  crimes  in  this  disgusting  cata- 
logue, and  place  them  all  alike  beyond  the  reach 
of  denunciation,  any  objection  to  a  ^^  temperance 
sermon,'^  as  such,  is  sheer  prejudice,  which  no 
man  ought  to  cherish  for  a  moment,  and  which 
if  cherished  by  any,  can  hardly  be  expected  to 
silence  the  admonitions  of  those  who  feel  that 
they  are  accountable  to  God,  rather  than  to  men, 
for  what  they  proclaim  from  the  Sacred  desk. 
Men  have  often  been  found  who  are  free  to  say 
that  this  is  a  subject  which  preachers  of  the  gospel 
ought  to  let  alone ;  if  the  Holy  Spirit  w^ho 
inspired  the  Apostles  had  "  let  it  alone,"  then  we 
might.  If  it  were  a  mere  i^iatter  of  opinion,  or 
of  taste,  or  of  worldly  policy,  then  prudence  might 
dictate,  and  conscience  might  allow,  that  we  should 
let  it  alone,  but  how  can  we,  while  it  is  a  matter 
involving  the  everlasting  destiny  of  the  souls  of 
thousands  ?  How  can  we,  wdiile  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  closed,  as  with  walls  of  adamant,  high  as 
heaven,  against  all  drunkards  ? 

^'  ^  But  perhaps  every  one  now  present  is  ready  to 


EEV.  JACOB  KIRKPATEICK,  jR.         107 

say,  I  have  no  objection  to  a  sermon  against  intem- 
perance ;  the  Bible  plainly  condemns  it  as  a  damning 
sin,  public  sentiment  universally  condemns  it  as  a 
monstrous  social  and  moral  evil ;  we  all  abominate 
it  as  a  loathsome  degradation  of  everything  that 
is  lovely  and  noble  in  manhood ;  preach  against  it. 
And  yet,  some  may  be  disposed  to  add  something 
like  this,  but  do  not  condemn  the  moderate  use  of 
intoxicating  beverages,  and  above  all  things,  be- 
ware of  politics  in  the  pulpit.  Well  then,  with- 
out venturing  to  announce  the  broad  assertion 
that  it  is  a  sin,  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  drink  any 
intoxicating  liquor  at  all,  without  venturing  to 
deny  that  the  pulpit  may  have  been  sometimes 
dishonored  by  a  sort  of  sermon  which  bore  too 
close  a  resemblance  to  a  political  harangue;  on  the 
other  hand,  without  undertaking  to  search  for  that 
particular  degree  at  which  moderation  passes  into 
excess,  and  witliout  attempting  to  ascertain  pre- 
cisely how  many  allusions  to  human  government 
it  takes  to  desecrate  a  sacred  desk,  I  will  take  my 
stand  this  morning,  upon  the  safe,  and  clear,  and 


108  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL, 

undisputed  ground,  where  we  can  all  harmoniously 
meet,  and  there  kindly  invite  your  candid  atten- 
tion to  a  discourse  upon  drunkenness. 

" '  Where,  in  all  the  world-wide  experience  of 
fallen  man,  where,  on  all  the  sin-blighted  earth, 
where  is  to  be  found  a  lower  form  of  degrada- 
tion than  is  embodied  in  the  confirmed  drunk- 
ard? 

"  ^  Look  at  him  as  a  member  of  the  community ! 
He  has  forfeited  and  lost  the  respect  and  confi- 
fidence  of  his  former  associates,  he  shrinks  from 
the  companionship  of  his  own  friends,  and  they 
from  his,  he  is  exiled  from  all  the  circles  of  re- 
spectability, and  instead  of  filling  his  appropriate 
sphere   of  usefulness,   is   almost   universally   re- 
garded as  an  incumbrance  and  nuisance.     Look 
at  him  as  a  father !  Heaping  disgrace  and  wretch- 
edness upon  those  whom  he  ought  to  cherish,  and 
protect   and   ennoble!  Look   at   him   as  a  son! 
Bringing  down  with  sorrow  to  the  grave  the  gray 
hairs  of  those  whom  he  ought  to  honor  and  com- 
fort, and  bless.     What   object   is   more   pitiable 


EEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATRICK,  JR.         109 

than  the  suiferer  and  inflicter  of  so  much  misery? 
Hear  his  confessions  and  lamentations ;  not  im- 
agined for  this  occasion,  but  actually  heard  from 
lips  that  were  quivering  with  agony,  and  vividly 
remembered  from  an  hour  of  most  painful  sym- 
pathy.    Would  it  were  a  fancy  sketch  ! 

"  ^  Here  it  is,  all  but  the  emphasis  of  agonizing 
earnestness,  and  the  tears  forced  from  a  fountain 
that  had  long  been  supposed  to  be  dry,  which  ac- 
companied its  original  utterance ;  "  I  am  the  most 
miserable  wretch  that  lives;  the  best  years  of  my 
life  are  wasted,  my  mind  is  enfeebled  and  ruined, 
my  finer  feelings  are  blunted,  my  body  is  the  prey 
of  relentless  disease,  all  my  powers  are  subjected 
to  the  brutalizing  mastery  of  the  worst  and 
mightiest  of  habits.  I  have  effectually  driven  from 
me  all  the  confidence  even  of  those  who  weep  for 
me  still.  I  am  an  outcast,  I  have  nothing  left,  I 
can  regain  nothing,  I  am  damned  before  death ; 
let  me  alone,  let  me  die  and  plunge  into  oblivion." 
Fancy  sketch !  it  is  a  reality  that  has  been  mul- 
tiplied into  millions  of  dirge-like  soliloquies,  and 

10 


110  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

desperate  confessions.  AVho  can  withhold  his 
deepest,  truest  pity  from  the  blasted  victim  of  in- 
temperance ?  And  yet,  opposite  to  unsympathiz- 
ing  indifference,  there  is  an  extreme  no  less  to  be 
deprecated,  and  that  is  the  indulgence  of  such  a 
sympathy  as  overlooks  or  excuses  the  drunkard's 
sin.  Intemperance  is  not  merely  a  misfortune,  it 
is  a  crime,  not  a  trivial  offence  either,  but  a  hein- 
ous crime.  If  it  be  not  within  the  province  of 
Gospel-preaching  to  oppose  it  as  a  gigantic  social 
and  domestic  evil,  and  the  very  consummation  of 
individual  ruin,  in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  still, 
it  surely  is  within  the  province  of  gospel-preach- 
ing to  denounce  it  as  a  monstrous  sin  against 
God.' 

"  His  appeal  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  to  the 
advocates  of  moderate  drinking,  exhibiting  as  it 
does  the  folly  and  absurdity  of  their  arguments  is 
searching,  irresistible,  scathing. 

"  The  outlines  of  his  application  indicate  the 
power  with  which  he  must  have  brought  the  sub- 
ject  home   to   young  men ;    to   those   who   are 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATRICK,  JR.         HI 

afraid  to  drink  at  all ;  to  those  who  already  drink 
frequently ;  to  parents  in  regard  to  their  children; 
to  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  raake  and  execute  the 
laws,  and  finally  to  Christians. 

"  The  last  sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Kirkpatrick 
was  attended  by  circumstances  that  made  it 
peculiarly  interesting.  In  his  naturally  modest 
way  he  had  intimated  to  a  few  friends  that  the 
architectural  style  of  his  pulpit  was  not  quite  to 
his  mind.  He  did  not  feel  free  in  it.  He  wished 
one  better  adapted  to  extemporaneous  speaking. 
The  people  at  once  proposed  that  a  new  one  should 
be  constructed  according  to  his  own  plan.  They 
cheerfully  acknowledged  his  right  to  a  ^sacred 
desk'  made  to  suit  himself.  He  wished  also  to 
please  them.  After  visiting  several  churches  he 
decided  upon  the  model,  and  he  took  a  most  ac- 
tive interest  in  superintending  its  erection.  The 
old  one  must  be  removed,  and  the  new  one 
set  up  in  all  its  elegance  within  a  week.  Satur- 
day came ;  the  last  touch  was  given  to  it  as  the 
day  was  closing.     He  entered  it,  and  felt  as  if  he 


112  KIBKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

could  stand  there  and  preach  with  freedom  of 
spirit.  It  could  not  fail  to  please,  as  any  one  who 
may  now  occupy  it  will  readily  understand.  But 
where  was  his  sermon^  He  had  been  making 
the  pulpit  rather  than  preparing  for  preaching  in 
it.  The  pen  had  laid  quiet  in  his  study.  It  was 
probably  not  the  first  time  that  the  manual  labor 
of  sermonizing  had  been  postponed  until  the 
hastening  hours  of  Saturday.  He  often  said  that 
he  could  work  best  when  ^  driven  into  a  corner.' 
It  was  now  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  in 
that  new  pulpit  a  new  sermon  must  be  preached 
on  the  morrow.  It  seems  that  his  mind  had  not 
been  idle.  He  had  probably  thought  that  there 
was  danger  of  attaching  too  much  importance  to 
the  beautiful  structure,  and  this  may  have  sug- 
gested the  text.  It  was  Ecclesiastes  i.  2 :  ^Vanity 
of  vanities,  saith  the  preacher,  vanity  of  vanities ; 
all  is  vanity.'  With  a  pencil  he  had,  doubtless, 
already  made  a  rough  outline  of  what  he  intended 
to  deliver.  This  we  find  copied  in  a  rapid  hand. 
The  next  morning,  March  15, 1857,  he  was  in  his 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATBICK,  JB.  113 

place  to  declare  the  message  of  God.     He  began 
thus  : 

"^Whoisthis  melancholy  preacher?  Who  is 
he  that  utters  this  dismal  wail  of  disappointment 
and  hopeless  want?  Who  is  he  that  takes  such  a 
sad  and  murky  view  of  life?  Is  he  the  official 
preacher,  the  representative  of  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel  as  a  class  ?  No ;  it  is  not  their  duty  nor  their 
practice  to  proclaim  that  "all  is  vanity/'  this  is  not 
their  message.  If  any  do  proclaim  it,  they  tran- 
scend their  instructions,  they  assume  the  authority 
of  self-taught  sages  or  prophets ;  or  more  probably 
they  are  led  astray  by  an  unthinking  and  inordi- 
nate disdain;  by  morbid  despondency.  There  is 
an  overweening  contempt  of  the  world  which  over- 
looks its  real  value,  and  its  right  and  noble  uses ; 
this  contempt  may  arise  from  disappointment  and 
border  upon  despair;  or  it  may  arise  from  a  zeal 
which  is  not  according  to  knowledge  and  border 
upon  fanaticism.  iVever  may  this  pulpit  be 
clouded  with  the  gloom  of  such  preaching.  Never 
may   it   be   here   declared,   in   direct   and    final 


10  * 


114  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

earnestness,  without  due  limitation,  that  all  is 
vanity. 

"  ^  It  overlooks  all  that  is  of  value  in  nature,  in 
life,  in  manhood;  it  underrates  all  the  royal  benefi- 
cence with  which  the  Creator  has  brightened  and 
blessed  the  world. . .  .  There  is  a  sense  in  which  "  all 
is  vanity"  and  emptiness.  To  the  man  who  makes 
the  world  his  portion  it  is  empty,  because  dissevered 
from  the  eternal  source  of  all  good.  .  .  The  error  of 
the  expression,  '^  all  is  vanity^'  consists  in  the  un- 
warranted scope  given  to  it.  .  .  .  The  preacher  is 
Solomon — iuvspired  fully  so  that  he  might  faith- 
fully record  his  own  errors,  as  the  Psalmist  was 
inspired  in  recording  the  fact  that  "the  fool  hath 
said  in  his  heart.  There  is  no  God." 

"  ^  The  Sermon  is  his  own  life,  his  autobiography, 
his  experience  in  the  vain  search  for  happiness  in 
mere  earthly  labors,  mirth,  enterprises,  wealth  and 
honors.  To  him  all  had  been  vanity  and  vexa- 
•  tion,  because  he  had  made  them  his  portion.  .  .  . 
Show  that  his  reign  was  a  period  of  decline,  not 
only  to  Israel,  but  to  himself  individually.  .  .  . 


EEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATBICK,  JB.         115 

(1.)  Apparent  worldly  prosperity  is  not  always 
really  such.  .  .  (2.)  If  real  it  is  not  always  last- 
ing. .  .  (3.)  Even  if  it  last  through  this  life,  it 
lasts  no  longer  unless  it  is  sanctified  by  the  love 
of  God.  .  .  (4.)  What  is  real  prosperity  ?  This 
question  is  reserved  to  be  answered  this  afternoon, 
and  the  answer  confirmed  by  further  views  of  the 
royal  preacher.^ 

"Perhaps  this  suggestion,  made  in  his  notes, 
was  not  made  in  the  pulpit.  Yet  he  did  not  sus- 
pect that  he  would  never  give  publicly  the  answer 
to  his  question.  It  was  evident  to  his  friends  that 
he  needed  rest,  and  it  seems  that,  at  their  urgent 
solicitation,  he  consented  to  take  it,  inasmuch  as  a 
ministerial  brother  was  providentially  at  hand  to 
supply  his  place  in  the  afternoon.  Disease  had 
smitten  him.  He  never  preached  again.  With- 
out knowing  it  he  had  delivered  his  last  sermon. 
He  had  not  to  endure  the  pang  of  uttering  a  pub- 
lic farewell.  Will  any  say  of  his  ministry,  ^all  * 
is  vanity?'  Was  it  nothing  but  Wexation  of 
spirit?'     His  short,  earnest,  blessed  life  answers 


116  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

his  last  recorded  question  from  the  pulpit,  ^What 
is  prosperity  ?' '' 

His  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  flock  was 
uninterrupted  and  absorbing;  and  his  yearning 
for  the  salvation  of  sinners  was,  by  day  and  by 
night  like  a  consuming  fire  in  his  bones.  On  one 
of  his  discourses,  which  is  noted  as  having  been 
preached  in  the  Third  Church,  are  written  a  few 
words  which  revealed  the  inmost  heart  of  this 
devoted  pastor:  "Traced  one  conversion  to 
THIS  sermon.     To  God  be  the  praise." 

The  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  at  their 
next  meeting  after  his  death,  thus  recorded  their 
estimate  of  Mr.  Kirkpatrick:  "The  Presbytery 
would  bear  testimony  to  the  singleness  of  heart 
with  which  he  devoted  to  Christ  his  superior 
talents  and  acquirements ;  to  his  fidelity,  prudence 
and  zeal  as  an  ambassador  of  Christ ;  and  to  the 
meek,  humble,  patient,  unostentatious,  self-sacri- 
ficing, and  benevolent  spirit  by  which  he  endeared 
himself  to  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  pre- 


REV.  JACOB  KIRKPATBICK,  JR.         117 

sented  to  the  church  and  the  world  a  bright 
example  of  Christian  excellence/' 

A  model  of  sincerity,  truthfulness,  genuine 
modesty,  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  cheerful- 
ness in  affliction,  disinterested  sympathy  for  others, 
love  to  tlie  brethren,  and  burning  love  to  souls  for 
Christ V:  sake — his  example  was  a  living  gospel, 
for  he  practiced  what  he  preached.  Like  David 
Brainard  and  Henry  Martyn,  this  devoted  servant 
of  God  went  up  to  his  reward  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
one;  but  "he  being  dead  yet  speaketh,"  and  long 
will  it  be  before  the  last  echoes  of  that  voice  aifec- 
tionate  and  earnest  in  its  tones,  and  tremulous 
with  emotion,  will  have  died  away  from  the  hearts 
of  those  to  whom  he  ministered. 

The  people  of  the  Third  Church  joined  by 
those  of  the  Fourth,  who  were  once  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  J.  Kirkpatrick,  Jr.,  have 
erected  a  chaste  and  appropriate  monument  over 
the  remains  of  this  beloved  man  and  his  com- 
panion in  life,  on  which  are  the  following  inscrip- 
tions : 


118  KIRKPATEICK  MEMORIAL. 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

THE    CHIilSTI^^lS'    IjIFE 

AND    MINISTRY   OF    THE 

REV.  JACOB    KIRKPATRICK,  JR. 

Born  October  6,   1828. 
Died  October  27, 1859. 


Pastor   of  tlie    Tliird   I»res"by- 

terian.    Chnrcli    of    Trenton, 

from    October,   18S3    to 

Jannary,   1858. 


This  monument  was  erected  as  a  mark 

of  affection  by  those  who  enjoyed 

the  benefit  of  his  ministry 

in  Trenton. 


EEV.  JACOB  KIBKPATBICK,  JB.  119 


SARAH    C.  VAN    LIEW, 

WIFE  OF 
MJSr.    JACOB    KUtJBjPATMICK,   JB, 

Born  June  14,  1829, 
Died  March  20, 1859. 


Born  again  A.  D.  1848. 
Is  not  dead  but  sleepeth. 


SERMONS 


BY 


THE   REV.  JACOB   KIRKPATRICK,  JR. 


I. 

•  GOD'S  GLOBT  IK  MEDEMrTION.* 

0  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth. 
Psalm  viii.  9. 

WE  observe  that  this  Psalm  commences  and 
closes  with  the  same  words.  But  I  have 
selected  the  last  verse  as  the  text,  intentionally, 
and  in  preference  to  the  first.  Of  course,  the 
inquiry  is  awakened,  at  once,  why  the  last  is  pre- 
ferred, if  they  are  verbally  just  alike?  In  the 
answer  to  that  question  lies  the  very  point  to 
which  I  desire  ultimately  to  guide  our  minds. 
In  order  to  reach  it,  it  will  be  necessary  to  follow 
the  writer  through  the  whole  Psalm ;  and  to  in- 
clude the  whole  of  it,  in  a  general  way,  within 
the  scope  of  these  remarks,  will  not  involve  a 

*  Preached  before  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  January, 

1857. 

123 


124  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

departure  from  the  unity  of  the  text;  inasmuch 
as  this  contains  the  theme,  and  therefore  may  be 
considered  as  containing  the  whole  substance  of 
the  Psalm. 

David  announces  this  theme  at  the  beginning; 
then  his  quickened  spirit  proceeds  to  explore  the 
depths  and  heights,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
subject;  then  overawed  by  its  vastness  and  en- 
raptured by  its  beauties  and  sublimities,  he  pours 
out  the  overflowing  abundance  of  his  grateful 
praise,  in  a  more  fervent  and  emphatic  rej)etition 
of  the  theme.  Or,  considering  the  Psalm  as  ad- 
dressed to  us,  he  places  before  us,  first,  the  casket 
still  closed;  Ave  admire  it  for  its  own  matchless 
beauty,  and  the  more  we  gaze  upon  it  the  more 
we  admire,  and  t'he  more  we  admire  it  the  more 
we  feel  that  there  must  lie  hidden  within  it  jewels 
of  unrivalled  splendor,  and  of  priceless  value; 
then  he  opens  it,  and  spreads  out  before  us  its  re- 
splendent treasures ;  and  when  our  vague  expecta- 
tions have  all  been  lost  in  the  surpassing  bril- 
liancy of  the  display,  ke  replaces  them   in  the 


GOUS  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.        125 

casket,  and  while  the  vision  of  what  is  there  still 
lingers  in  our  eyes,  he  places  the  whole  before  us 
again,  to  be  all  taken  into  one  conception,  and  to 
call  forth  a  more  intelligent,  and  proportionally  a 
more  fervent  exclamation  of  devout  gratitude. 
Thus,  not  only  the  whole  meaning,  bui  the  whole 
power  and  life  and  ardor  of  the  Psalm  are  poured 
into  these  closing  words. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  see  how  this  force  is  accu- 
mulated during  the  progress  of  the  Psalm ;  and 
in  so  doing,  may  we  attain,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
a  livelier  sense  of  our  own  obligation  to  magnify 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  acquire  a  truer  and 
more  ardent  spirit  of  praise,  a  more  cheerful  trust 
in  God,  and  a  firmer  and  more  energetic  purpose 
of  consecration  to  his  service. 

The  glory — the  manifested  excellency — of  God 
is  the  subject  which  David  invites  us  to  examine 
with  him. 

First,  he  directs  our  attention  to  the  material 
universe.  Hear  his  reverential  address  to  Jeho- 
vah. "When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work 
11 » 


126  KIRKPATEICK  MEMORIAL, 

of  thy  fingers;  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which 
thou  hast  ordained;  What  is  man  that  thou  art 
mindful  of  him?  and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou 
visitest  him?"  A  single  glance  at  the  starry 
heavens  is  enough  to  fill  us  with  wonder,  and 
speechless  admiration  of  the  glory  of  God.  But 
we  are  so  familiar  with  the  scene  that  it  awakens 
in  our  breasts,  ordinarily  no  true,  much  less  any 
adequate  response. 

Let  us,  for  a  moment,  with  reference  to  the  end 
before  us,  consider  the  heavens,  the  work  of  God's 
fingers.  World  beyond  world,  worlds  beyond 
worlds,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  worlds; 
worlds  without  number,  and  worlds  without  mea- 
sure; worlds  at  distances  from  us  which  confound 
our  understandings  as  easily  as  our  senses,  and  at 
distances  from  one  another  which  suffocate  the 
imagination;  and  all,  notwithstanding  the  im- 
mensity of  their  masses  and  the  vastness  and  in- 
tricacy of  their  circuits,  all  moving  perpetually 
with  absolute  precision. 

How  great,  how  incomprehensible  in  majesty 


00 us  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.         127 

and  wisdom  and  power  must  be  He  who  created 
all  these  things  out  of  nothing;  who  devised  all 
their  complicated,  yet  most  harmonious  arrange- 
ments, and  who  hath  guided  them  all  in  their 
pauseless  movements  through  all  the  boundless 
labvrinth  of  intersecting  orbits,  without  a  jar 
which  even  the  subtile  beams  of  light  could  feel ! 
Even  with  this  general  view  of  the  heavens,  with 
hardly  a  definite  thought  of  the  countless,  brilliant 
links  of  mystery  that  unite  them  all  in  one  bound- 
less but  harmonious  whole,  well  may  we  exclaim 
with  the  Psalmist,  "  What  is  man  that  thou  art 
mindful  of  him?'' 

For,  let  us  not  fail  to  observe  here,  the  real 
scope  of  the  comparison.  It  is  not  between  the 
material  creation  and  man.  Man  is  in  fact  superior 
to  all  this.  The  grandest  movement  in  nature, 
the  vast  simultaneous  movements  of  all  nature, 
are,  in  themselves,  immeasurably  beneath  a  single 
thought  of  the  human  mind;  and  the  substantial 
greatness  of  all  worlds,  is  still  a  microscopic  thing, 
compared  with  the  greatness  of  a  single  immortal 


128  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

soul ;  and  for  enduring  value,  those  worlds,  with 
all  their  wonders  of  wealth,  mocking  the  wildest 
dreams  of  fable,  when  compared  with  the  spirit 
of  man,  are  no  more  than  a  shred  of  an  old  gar- 
ment taken  up  by  the  rag-j)icker  from  the  street, 
and  offered  for  the  power  and  pride  and  worship 
of  an  empire. 

But  the  contrast  is  between  frail  man  and  the 
Creator  of  all  worlds.  The  reference  to  the 
heavens  is  introduced  here  chiefly  to  set  this  con- 
trast in  bolder  relief;  and  now,  the  feeble  crea- 
ture sinks  to  an  unsounded  depth  of  insignificance, 
while  the  effulgent  glory  of  God  rises  up  from  all 
the  earth,  like  a  vast  cloud  with  the  sun  in '  its 
bosom,  and  spreads  itself  out  over  the  very  heights 
of  all  created  being.  Let  us  bow  down  and  say, 
"What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?" 

In  addition  to  the  glory  which  he  has  displayed 
in  the  visible  creation,  we  have  now  to  turn  our 
attention  to  that  which  he  exhibits  in  this  conde- 
scension. Are  we  arrested  for  a  moment  by  the 
question,  how  can  condescension  be  glorious?     Is 


GOD'S  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.        129 

it  not  rather  humiliating?  No,  never,  unless  it 
involves  the  sacrifice  of  moral  excellency,  or  moral 
power.  It  is  the  transition  from  a  higher  to  a 
lower  moral  grade  that  gives  to  condescension  its 
humiliating  sense.  If  a  man  comes  down  from 
some  elevated  social  position,  with  the  attitude 
and  sill  lie  of  benignity,  to  lift  up  one  whom  mis- 
fortune has  cast  down,  or  to  bind  up  some  broken 
heart  with  kindly  charities,  we  instinctively  feel 
that  he  merits  honour  by  the  act.  If  the  sufferer 
is  also  morally  degraded,  our  estimate  of  the  mag- 
nanimity of  the  deed  may  be  lowered;  but  if  so, 
it  is  only,  in  the  case  of  any  right-minded  man, 
on  account  of  the  feeling  that  the  benefactor  is 
exposing  himself  to  contamination,  and  endanger- 
ing the  true  dignity  of  his  character,  or  weaken- 
ing the  efficiency  of  his  moral  influence. 

Apart  from  these  considerations,  the  condescen- 
sion is  really  the  greater,  in  proportion  as  moral 
degradation  is  lower  than  social  insignificance. 
It  is  our  false  pride,  perverting  our  notion  of  true 
dignity — it  is  sin,  which  has  so  closely  associated 


130  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

in  our  minds  the  ideas  of  condescension  and  de- 
grading humiliation.  They  are  not  synonymous ; 
they  are  not  necessarily  inseparable  above  the 
region  of  sin;  they  are  not  possibly  incompatible. 
There  is,  then,  before  us,  a  reality,  and  one  worthy 
of  our  contemplation,  in  the  glory  manifested  in 
the  condescension  of  God. 

There  is  no  reference  here  to  the  love  which 
prompted  it,  nor  to  the  administration  of  mercy, 
which  has  accompanied  it,  nor  to  the  magnificent 
results  which  are  to  follow  it;  but  our  attention 
is  now  called  to  the  praise-worthiness  of  this  con- 
descension, in  itself  considered. 

In  the  simple  act  of  condescension,  if  we  may 
designate  it  as  an  act,  the  being  mindful  of  man, 
the  stooping  to  visit  the  son  of  man,  in  this  there 
is  a  grandeur  not  only  surpassing  any  that  the 
world  exhibits,  but  a  grandeur  too  great  for  any 
scope  which  the  world  presents,  and  commensurate 
with  the  distance  from  heaven  to  earth,  from  God 
to  man.  It  is  all- worthy  of  divinity.  Yet  great 
as  this  condescension  is,  low  as  it  comes,  it  in- 


GOD'S  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.       181 

volves  no  loss  of  majesty  upon  the  part  of  God; 
and  in  this  fact  there  is  a  mystery  of  excellence 
which  demands  our  most  reverential  praise ;  praise 
not  only  in  view  of  the  infinite  majesty  which  he 
retains,  but  in  view  of  that  wondrous  fact,  that 
his  condescension  is  real,  and  yet  involves  no 
sacrifice  of  his  most  exalted  greatness.  In  stoop- 
ing to  the  depraved  he  gives  no  countenance  to 
sin,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  world  reeking  with  cor- 
ruption, the  stainless  splendor  of  his  purity  repels 
every  touch  of  evil,  every  breath  of  pollution. 

Now,  the  more  he  does  for  this  insignificant 
and  unholy  creature,  man,  the  more  conspicuous 
his  condescension,  and  the  greater  the  glory  of  it. 
What  is  it?  "For  thou  hast  made  him  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels,  and  hast  crowned  him  with 
glory  and  honor.  Thou  madest  him  to  have 
dominion  over  the  works  of  thy  hands ;  thou  hast 
put  all  things  under  his  feet :  All  sheep  and  oxen, 
yea,  and  the  l)easts  of  the  field;  The  fowl  of  the 
air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  whatsoever  pass- 
eth  through  the  patlis  of  the  seas." 


132  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

But  is  this  true?  How,  or  when,  or  where, 
has  this  description  ever  been  realized?  True,  it 
was  realized  in  paradise;  but  is  the  Psalmist's 
design  to  awaken  a  cruel,  mocking  memor}^  of 
excellence  and  regal  authority  that  have  been  ir- 
recoverably lost?  No,  but  to  direct  the  eager  eye 
of  faith  to  the  opening  vision  of  a  future  state 
like  that  which  seemed  to  have  receded  from  the 
remotest  memory  of  man  still  backward  into  the 
ray  less  darkness  of  eternal  oblivion.  This  de- 
scription has  been  realized  again,  for  the  apostle 
Paul  so  declares  in  Hebrews:  "For  unto  the 
angels  hath  he  not  put  in  subjection  the  world  to 
come  whereof  we  speak.  But  one  in  a  certain 
place  testified,  saying,  What  is  man,  that  thou  art 
mindful  of  him?  or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou 
visitest  him?  Thou  madest  him  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels;  thou  crownedst  him  mth  glory 
and  honor,  and  didst  set  him  over  the  works  of 
thy  hands;  Thou  hast  put  all  things  in  subjection 
under  his  feet.  For  in  that  he  put  all  in  subjec- 
tion under  him,  he  left  nothing  that  is  not  put 


iJiJl)\S  ULOIIY  IN  REDEMPTION.        133 

under  him.  But  now  we  see  not  yet  all  things 
put  under  him:  but  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made 
a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of 
death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honour;  that  he 
by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for  every 
man.  For  it  became  him,  for  whom  are  all 
things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing 
many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make  the  Captain  of 
their  salvation  perfect  through  sufferings.  For 
both  he  that  sanctifieth,  and  they  who  are  sancti- 
fied, are  all  of  one:  for  which  cause  he  is  not 
ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  saying,  I  will  de- 
clare thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  in  the  midst 
of  the  church  will  I  sing  praise  unto  thee." 

It  has  been  realized  in  Him  who  is  pre-emi- 
ijently  the  Son  of  man.  In  Him  we  see  the  per- 
fection of  man  restored.  All  who  are  in  Christ 
by  faith  shall  be  made  like  unto  Him.  This  de- 
scription shall  again  be  realized  in  the  race  of 
redeemed  mankind.     We  have  now  to  turn  our 

attention  to  the  glory  of  God's  condescension  as 

12 


134  KIRKPATEWK  MEMORIAL, 

exhibited  in  this  exaltation  of  man.     Let  us  be- 
hold it: 

I.  In  the  means  of  his  exaltation.  All  these 
are  such  as  to  make  the  most  marvellous  display 
of  his  excellency.  The  gift  of  his  only-begotten 
and  well-beloved  Son  is  the  infinite  munificence 
of  infinite  love.  The  person  and  character  of 
Christ  constitute  the  brightest  and  clearest  reve- 
lation of  himself.  The  life  of  Christ  culminating 
upoii  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  exhibits  the 
perfection  of  heaven,  unstained  by  the  world  of 
pollution,  untarnished  by  the  hot,  fetid  breath  of 
tlie  world's  fiery  passions,  and  undimmed  by 
earthly  darkness.  While  the  self-sacrifice  of 
Christ  pours  into  the  ocean  of  divine  love  another 
ocean  of  divine  love  till  it  overflows  the  world, 
it  exhibits  in  the  clearest  possible  light  the  jus- 
tice and  the  holiness  of  God,  and  irradiates  the 
earth  with  tlie  beams  of  infinite  mercy.  And 
while  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  exhibits  the  infinite 
holiness  of  God  in  an  abhorrence  of  sin,  the  con- 
verting and   sanctifying  influences  of  the  Holy 


GOB'S  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.        135 

Spirit,  which  were  procured  by  that  sacrifice, 
transforming  man  into  the  image  of  God,  exhibit 
the  same  holiness  in  its  sublime  out-going  after 
the  fellowship  of  holiness. 

II,  This  brings  us  to  behold  the  glory  of  God 
as  exhibited  in  the  exalted  man.  The  means  just 
alluded  to,  derive  their  chief  excellency  from  the 
motives  which  originated  them,  and  from  the  end 
to  which  they  are  directed.  *^God  so  loved  the 
world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  might  not  perish  but 
have  everlasting  life."  This  it  is  that  makes  the 
gift  of  Christ  an  exhibition  of  the  divine  glory ; 
and  the  life  of  Christ  assumes  its  loftiest  character 
only  when  we  regard  it  as  tlie  example  for  man 
to  imitate,  and  the  character  for  man  to  attain. 
The  secret  of  its  highest  excellency  is  in  these 
words,  ^'Be  ye  perfect,  for  I  am  perfect.''  The 
death  of  Christ  assumes  its  loftiest  character  only 
when  we  regard  it  as  procuring  not  only  the  jus- 
tification of  man  but  also  the  descent  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  aid  him  in  the  imitation  of  that  exam- 


136  KIRKPATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

pie,  and  to  transform  him  into  that  likeness. 
Thus  all  these  means  are  to  be  viewed  in  imme- 
diate  connection  with  the  end  to  be  accomplished, 
which  is  the  complete  redemption  of  man.  So, 
this  end  accomplished  is  the  highest  display  of 
the  glory  of  God,  yea  this  end  accomplished  takes 
up  into  itself  every  subordinate  manifestation  of 
his  excellency. 

The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  his  handiwork  unto  man. 
The  material  world  is  designed  for  his  uses.  The 
condescension  of  the  great  Creator  is  toward  him 
and  for  him.  The  means  of  redemption  are 
adapted  and  appropriated  to  him.  The  end  of 
all  is  his  restoration  to  the  image  of  God,  and 
exaltation  to  his  presence;  and  when  Christ  in 
his  glorified  humanity  shall  stand  before  the 
eternal  throne  with  all  his  ransomed  people,  and 
say,  "  Here  am  I  and  the  children  whom  thou 
hast  given  me,"  then  God  will  breathe  his  fiat 
of  destruction  upon  the  material  world,  and  Avaft 
it  away  upon   the  \vings  of  devouring  fire,  and 


GOD'S  GLORY  IN  REDEMPTION.       187 

then  will  he  gather  the  rays  of  his  glory,  which 
have  been  dispersed  through  the  world,  all  toge- 
ther again  to  irradiate  and  emblazon  the  eternal 
home  of  himself  and  his  people. 

In  view  of  this  whole  process,  and  in  view  of 
its  consummation  in  heaven,  how  can  we  fail  to 
exclaim  with  the  emphasis  of  ecstatic  adoration, 
"  O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how^excellent  is  thy  name 
in  all  the  earth  !" 

But  alas !  there  are  many  who  cannot  join  in 
this  exclamation  because  they  have  no  true  appre- 
ciation of  all  this  manifested  excellency  of  God. 
They  have  no  well-founded  hope  of  being  raised 
to  this  blissful  height.  There  may  be  some  such 
here.  Can  you,  my  friend,  say  with  the  people 
of  God,  "  O  Lord,  how  excellent  is  thy  name  ?" 

Can  you  compass  the  visible  creation  in  your 
view,  and  with  a  spiritual  apprehension  of  the 
glory  which  it  displays,  and  with  the  tranquillizing 
conviction  that  the  same  wisdom  and  power  and 
goodness,  which  gleam  forth  throughout  the  scene, 
are  engaged  in  your  behalf,  can  you  take  up  the 

12  * 


138  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

theme  and  ascribe  all  this  excellence  to  our 
Lord  ? 

Can  you  clasp  the  gospel  to  your  heart, — can 
you  go  up  high  upon  the  Pisgah  of  faith,  and 
cateh  the  truant  gleams  of  celestial  light,  and  the 
truant  whispers  of  celestial  harmony  and  say, 
"O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  thy  name?'' 

O  my  brethren  in  t^e  ministry,  let  us  be  duly 
affected  by  the  condition  of  the  unbelieving !  AVe 
know  that  it  is  only  through  the  enlightening  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  they  can  ever  see, 
and  though  inadequately,  yet  truly  appreciate 
this  accumulated  glory  of  God.  We  know  that 
it  is  only  by  a  living  union  with  Christ,  the  Son 
of  Man,  only  by  this  living  union  through  faith 
in  his  blood,  that  they  can  ever  realize  in  them- 
selves this  description  of  the  Psalmist,  this  divine 
theory  of  redemption,  this  central  promise  of  the 
gospel,  this  only  hope  of  immortality.  If  they 
continue  in  unbelief,  what  will.be  their  ultimate 
condition  as  seen  in  the  light  of  this  subject? 

All  these  displays  of  divine  glory  will  be  lost 


GOD'S  GLOliY  IN  REDEMPTION.        139 

upon  them.  If  the  legitimate  end  and  consum- 
mation of  all  is  man\s  complete  redemption^ 
then, — not  upon  the  part  of  God,  indeed,  but 
upon  their  part,  this  whole  scheme  and  process 
of  creation  and  redemption,  will  have  been  a 
total,  ruinous  failure.  And  though  this  enor- 
mous, incalculable  loss  may  be  unappreciated, 
unfelt  as  yet,  still  it  will  be  found  in  the  end  to 
constitute  a  temble  doom.  For  when  God  shall 
have  gathered  all  these  scattered  beams  of  his 
glory  together  in  the  home  of  his  people,  they 
will  be  left  in  outer  darkness.  The  world  lost, 
on  the  one  hand,  heaven  lost  on  the  other ;  the 
world  wasted,  heaven  rejected,  and  themselves 
lost  in  eternal  blank  despair.  Whatever  may  be 
meant  by  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched,  and  the 
worm  that  never  dies,  is  there  not  enough  in  this 
everlasting  failure  and  destitution ;  in  the  full  con- 
sciousness of  this  loss;  in  this  blackness  of  dark- 
ness, this  abandonment,  this  eternal  emptiness, 
and  cast-off  worthlessness,  this  wild  conflict  be- 
tween exasperated   memories'  and  relentless   de- 


140  KTRKPATliJCK  MEMORIAL. 

spair,  is  there  not  enough  in  these  to  move  our 
deepest  sympathies?  Let  us  be  moved  by  the 
greatness  of  their  uncertain  unsettled  destiny. 
Let  us  '' preach  the  word,  be  instant  in  season, 
out  of  season,"^  let  us  urge  them,  with  all  the  ear- 
nestness of  which  we  are  capable,  to  flee  to  Christ, 
and  by  a  living  faith  in  him,  to  rise  up  in  new- 
ness of  life,  into  the  full  eternal  glory  of  God's 
completed  redemption. 


%    ^ 


11. 

MOTIVES  TO  EFFOHT. 

Let  him  know  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  way,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a 
multitude  of  sins.     James  v.  20. 

rpHESE  words  refer  directly  to  the  case  of  an 
-■-  apostate  professor  of  religion.  This  is  mani- 
fest from  its  connection  with  the  preceding  verse; 
"Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the  truth.'' 
Nevertheless,  it  includes  the  case  of  every  unbe- 
liever who  has  never  become  united  with  the 
brethren  in  Christian  fellowship.  The  fallen 
professor,  and  the  avowedly  unconverted  man  are 
alike  in  all  the  particulars  hei^e  nv^iitioned ;  both 
have  need  to  be  converted,  both  have  a  multitude 
of  sins  exposed  to  the  view  of  divine  justice,  and 
both  are  on  the  way  to  death.  In  our  medita- 
tions upon  these  words,  therefore,  we  may  leave 

141 


142  KIRKPATEWK  MKMOllIAL. 

such  distmctioiis  entirely  out  of  view,  and  allow 
our  minds  to  turn  to  any  case  that  comes  within 
the  scope  of  these  general  terms,  "Let  any  one 
know  that  he  who  converteth  a  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  way,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins." 

This  is  not  a  mere  item  of  information,  as  the 
form  of  the  expression  seems  to  indicate.  It  is, 
in  reality,  the  offer  of  a  reward  as  an  incitement 
to  the  performance  of  a  good  work.  The  future 
and  complete  recompense  is  not,  indeed,  men- 
tioned; there  is  no  definite  allusion,  even,  to  the 
promise  that  "  they  who  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness shall  shine  as  stars  in  the  firmament  for- 
ever;'' but  it  is  tacitly  assumed  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  doing  good  is  in  itself  a  great 
reward,  and  to  the  right-minded,  a  sufficient 
inducement.  Such  it  ought  to  be  and  such  it  is 
to  those  whose  motives  are  entirely  incorrupted. 
It  is  not,  by  any  means,  intended  that  we  are  not 
to  look  for  any  additional  positive  recompense, 
nor   that   the    uncontaminated    desire    of    beino- 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  143 

useful  is  absolutely  the  only  thing  which  should 
prompt  us  to  good  works.  The  Scriptures  plainly 
recognize  the  correctness  of  other  motives,  and 
actually  appeal  to  them,  w^hen  they  attach  a  pro- 
mise of  blessing  to  any  of  the  divine  requirements. 
For  example,  when  it  is  said  tliat  ^^the  liberal 
soul  shall  be  made  fat;  and  he  that  watereth 
shall  be  watered  also  himself/^  it  is  directly  im- 
plied that,  in  the  exercise  of  beneficence,  we  may 
properly  be  influenced,  in  some  measure,  by  the 
desire  of  prosperity.  And  so,  all  the  conditional 
promises  of  the  word  of  God,  involve  the  conces- 
sion that  the  hope  of  future  reward  may  combine 
with  a  sense  of  duty  to  determine  and  regulate 
our  conduct. 

But  here  two  qualifying  remarks  are  demanded. 
The  first  is,  that  a  sense  of  duty  ought  to  be,  of 
itself,  sufficient  to  keep  us  constantly  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  The  other  is  that,  apart  from  any 
other  consideration  of  advantage,  the  conscious- 
ness of  being  useful  is,  in  itself,  a  reward  adequate 
to  any  effort,  or  to  any  sacrifice.     He,  who  does  a 


144  KIRK  PATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

good  deed  under  the  influence  of  unhallowed  am- 
bition, ^vill  not  be  content  until  the  fame  of  the 
act  shall  have  been  sounded  abroad ;  he  will  ex- 
pect his  compensation  in  the  applause  of  men, 
and  will  consider  himself  virtually  a  loser,  until 
that  applause  shall  have  actually  begun  to  delight 
his  vanity.  Pie,  who  performs  a  good  deed  merely 
for  the  sake  of  personal  aggrandizement,  in  some 
form  or  other,  will  chide  himself  for  the  risk 
until  he  attains  his  object,  and  even  then,  in  all 
probability,  he  will  be  disappointed  in  its  value, 
for  sheer  selfishness  is  too  mean  to  enjoy  what  it 
has,  or  what  it  seizes.  But  he,  who  does  a  good 
work  with  a  right  spirit,  although  no  one  should 
have  an  opportunity  to  praise  him  for  it ;  although 
his  left  hand  should  not  know  what  his  right 
hand  has  done,  and  long  before  the  final  plaudit 
and  reward  come  to  greet  him ;  in  the  very  per- 
formance of  the  deed,  and  afterward  in  view  of 
its  happy  results,  will  find  ample  compensation 
in  the  unspoken  consciousness  of  being  useful. 
It  will  not  be  in  the  proud  and  self-complacent 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  145 

reflection  that  he  has  been  able  to  lay  some  insig- 
nificant suiferer,  or  poor  dependent  fellow-creature 
under  lasting  obligation,  and  has  merited  all 
lieaven  ;  but  it  will  consist  in  the  benevolent  and 
humble  reflection  that  he  has  done  good,  and  has 
been  enabled  to  please  his  heavenly  Father. 
This  is  genuine  enjoyment;  this  is  one  great 
reason  why  "it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive/'  This  is  a  worthy,  and  when  rightly 
viewed,  a  very  strong  inducement  to  exertion  and 
self-denial,  and  accordingly  the  Apostle  says  not, 
he  that  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of 
his  way  shall  be  the  object  of  special  favor,  or 
shall  be  the  more  abundantly  blessed  hereafter, — 
but,  "  Let  him  know"  that  he  is  thereby  accom- 
plishing great  and  lasting  good. 

It  is  also  implied  in  the  text,  that  the  real 
gratification  springing  out  of  the  conviction  of 
having  been  useful,  will  be  graduated  according 
to  the  amount  of  good  which  one  has  been  instru- 
mental in  accomplishing.  If  a  man,  from  purely 
benevoleut   motives,   should    perform    merely  an 

13 


146  KIRKPATniCK  JlEMuiilAL 

ordinary  act  of  noigliborly  accommodation  for 
another,  he  would  find  comparatively  little  plea- 
sure, however  real  it  might  be,  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  conferred  the  favor.  If  he  should 
relieve  some  groaning  sufferer  from  his  distress, 
his  inward  compensation  would  be  proportionally 
greater;  and  if  he  should  afterwards  learn  that 
by  that  act  of  kindness  he  had  not  only  relieved 
the  individual  sufferer,  but  filled  the  bosom  of  his 
family  with  joy,  surely  his  inward  compensation 
would  be  not  a  little  enhanced;  and  if,  in  after 
time,  he  should  ascertain,  that  by  his  timely  in- 
terposition he  had  rescued  the  sufferer  from  de- 
spair ami  from  consequent  suicide,  and  had  turned 
him,  with  his  energies*  revived,  and  his  lost  hopes 
restored,  into  the  path  of  honest  prosperity,  along 
Avhich  he  had  gathered  up  a  fortune  for  himself 
and  for  the  charitable  uses  of  a  grateful  and 
generous  heart,  he  would  feel  still  more  lavishly 
repaid  by  the  reflection  that  he  had  done  the  deed 
of  kindness  years  before.  And  this  idea,  of  a 
sort   of   proportion    between    the    satisfaction    oi 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  147 

doing  good  and  the  magnitude  of  the  results  ac- 
complished, seems  to  have  been  in  the  mind  of 
the  apostle  James  when  he  penned  the  vv^ords  of 
the  text. 

What  an  inducement  to  seek  the  conversion  oi" 
others  is  here  presented !  He  who  instrumentally 
converts  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way,  hides 
a  multitude  of  sins.  Not  his  own  sins;  apparent 
devotion  to  the  service  of  God,  efforts  for  the  con- 
version of  sinners,  may,  indeed,  blind  some  human 
eyes,  for  awhile,  to  many  of  the  faults  and  sins 
of  him  by  whom  those  efforts  are  put  forth. 
These  efforts,  especially  if  they  are  successful, 
being  deemed  of  themselves  satisfactory  evidence 
of  his  sincerity  and  pious  zeal,  may  serve  to  avert 
from  him  the  scrutiny  of  many.  They  may  lead 
others  to  look  upon  him  with  the  illuded  eye  of 
partiality,  and  thus  indirectly  hide  many  of  his 
sins  from  human  view.  But  this  falls  far  below 
the  meaning  of  the  apostle.  And  no  endeavors 
to  do  good,  even  to  lead  men  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  whatever  be  the  motive,  can  hide  any  of 


148  KIIIKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

oiir  siiis^  not  ev^en  tlie  least^  directly  or  indirectly, 
from  tlio  Ir.evitablc  and  impartial  view  of  God. 
He  does  not  overlook  the  sins  of  the  best  of  mcn^ 
for  the  sake  of  what  they  do,  although  in  labors 
and  success  they  be  "not  behind  the  very  chief 
of  the  Apostles/'  for  after  they  have  done  all  they 
have  reason  to  own  "we  are  unprofitable  servants." 
Not  only  are  the  impenitent  unable  to  merit  for- 
giveness or  indulgence,  but  the  regenerated,  even 
the  most  pious  among  them,  are  equally  unable, 
for  they  are  still  constrained  to  acknowledge  "  by 
the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am;"  and  when 
all  their  labors  and  successes  are  wrought  together 
into  one  broad  mantle  of  righteousness,  the  whole 
of  it  is  the  w^orkmanship  of  the  gracious  strength 
of  God  working  in  them,  and  cannot  be  stretched 
over  their  positive  obligations,  much  less  can  it 
be  drawn  beyond  them,  and  made  to  cover  the 
least  of  their  transgressions  or  faults.  Nay,  more, 
a  man  may  preach  to  others  and  yet  be  himself  u 
cast-a-way;  this  possibility,  this  danger,  even 
Paul  did  not  fail  to  recognize  with  humility  and 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  140 

fear.  Nay,  nay,  no  man  can  hide  his  own  sins 
from  God,  in  any  sense  of  the  word,  even  by  con- 
verting sinners. 

But  still  he  "shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins," 
the  sins  of  that  man  whom  he  is  instrumental  in 
leading  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  When  a  man  who 
is  hurrying  onward,  impelled  by  the  restless  pas- 
sions of  a  depraved  nature,  and  by  the  stimulants 
of  manifold  temptations,  in  a  career  of  wicked- 
ness, strengthening  his  habits,  and  hardening  his 
heart,  and  acquiring  more  and  more  unholy  skill 
by  the  practice  of  iniquity,  and  enlarging  his 
plans  of  evil-doing,  when  such  a  man  is  merci- 
fully arrested,  and  transformed  by  the  regenerating 
power  of  God,  what  a  multitude  of  sins  is  thus 
prevented!  Such  was  his  sinful  disposition,  by 
nature;  such  was  the  fixedness  of  his  character; 
such  his  purposes  of  continued  impenitency  and 
disobedience ;  such  was  the  moral  certainty  that, 
if  he  lived  on  unconverted,  his  future  experience 
would  be  essentially  a  repetition  of  the  past,  and 
that  he  would  commit  a  multitude  of  sins,  that 

13  » 


"150  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

those  sins  may  be  said  to  have  had  an  existence 
already ;  an  existence  in  his  imaginations,  and  lia- 
bilities, and  designs,  and  plans,  a  germinal  exist- 
ence in  his  carnal  disposition  ]  and  consequently 
they  may  be  said  to  have  been  hidden  by  his  con- 
version, covered  up,  confined  to  their  secrecy,  de- 
stroyed before  they  came  to  the  light.  Is  not  this 
an  object  worthy  of  our  diligent  instrumentality? 
Take  the  case  of  any  unconverted  individual  to 
whom  your  mind  reverts;  how  many  more  sins 
he  is  likely  yet  to  commit,  how  many  more  he 
will  yet  commit,  if  the  forbearance  of  God  spare 
his  life,  and  he  continue  in  unbelief!  how  his 
guilt  will  increase,  his  liability  to  deeper  and 
deeper  woe !  And  as  his  sins  are  multiplied,  as 
he  grows  old  in  sin,  how  the  likelihood  of -his 
conversion  in  all  human  probability  will  diminish ! 
His  sins  are  rapidly  increasing,  and  is  not  that 
fact,  in  all  its  aspects  and  bearings,  enough  to 
urge  you  mightily  to  seek  his  conversion  earnestly 
at  once,  and  thus  throw  a  veil  over  the  future  de- 
velopments of  his  unregenerate  disposition  ?  Thus, 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  151 

on  a  larger  scale,  what  great  multitudes  of  sins 
will  yet  be  committed  by  the  unconverted  round 
about  us,  if  thty  be  not  speedily  turned  unto 
God.  And  if  the  multiplication  of  crimes,  the 
prevalence  of  iniquity  is  ^'an  evil  and  a  bitter 
thing,^^  fatal  in  its  ultimate  results,  full  of  dire 
contagion,  and  detrimental  to  all  the  interests  of 
mankind,  how  anxious  and  earnest  should  we  be 
to  convert  men  from  darkness  to  light,  and  thus 
hide  a  multitude  of  sins,  confining  them  forever 
in  their  embryonic  secrecy. 

The  expression  we  are  now  considering  includes 
much  more  than  the  idea  which  has  just  been 
suggested.  To  hide  sins,  or  to  cover  sins,  in 
Scripture  phraseology,  is  upon  the  part  of  God  to 
remove  them  from  the  view  of  his  vindictive  jus- 
tice. It  is  to  overlook  them,  to  forgive  them; 
and  in  the  case  before  us,  instrumentally  to  pro- 
cure their  pardon.  ^^God  is  angry  with  the 
wicked  every  day.''  He  looks  constantly  upon 
their  sins  with  holy  indignation.  No  plea  modi- 
fies their  hateful  aspect ;  no  excuse  intercepts  his 


152  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

view.  O,  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  be  thus  exposed 
to  the  searching  gaze  of  the  offended  God,  as  the 
unbeliever  is.  There  is  no  concealment  for  him, 
in  his  sinful  state.  If  he  ascend  up  into  heaven, 
God  is  there;  if  he  make  his  bed  in  hell,  God  is 
there;  if  he  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and 
dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  behold! 
the  Omnipresent  is  there;  and  wherever  he  goes 
the  same  retributive  justice  frowns  upon  his  sins. 
O  the  miser}^,  the  danger  of  such  an  exposure! 
Those  sins  are  odious  in  the  sight  of  God.  They 
are  objects  of  abhorrence;  yea,  more,  they  are 
provocations  of  his  wrath;  they  cry  unto  him  like 
the  blood  of  Abel,  and  if  they  continue  thus  in 
full  view,  like  so  many  challenges  of  his  justice, 
the  unmitigated  penalty  of  the  righteous  law  must 
descend  upon  the  transgressor.  How  shall  he 
escape?  So  long  as  Jehovah  looks  upon  those 
sins,  there  is  no  escape  for  him.  O,  that  those 
sins  were  hidden!  Then  he  might  be  relieved 
from  the  peace-destroying  consciousness  that  the 
eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  him  for  evil.     Then  he 


3I0TIVES  TO  EFFORT.  153 

might  draw  near  to  God  without  dread,  in  close 
and  holy  fellowship.  Then  his  heart  might  be 
filled  with  that  peace  which  passeth  understand- 
ing; a  tranquillizing  and  delightful  sense  of  that 
favor  which  is  life  and  that  loving-kindness  which 
is  better  than  life.  O  that  those  sins  were  hid- 
den! Then  God  would  regard  him  differently. 
He  would  look  upon  him  with  complacency. 
Now  his  wrath  abideth  upon  him,  but  then  he 
would  treat  him  as  righteous,  and  admit  him  to 
all  the  privileges  and  joys  of  sonship.  Fellow- 
Christians,  you  know  much,  and  can  imagine 
much  more  of  the  blessedness  of  that  man  whose 
transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered. 
How  many  dangers  would  be  averted,  and  how 
much  felicity  secured,  in  the  case  supposed,  if 
those  sins  were  only  hidden !  But  how  can  they 
be?  If  he  say  surely  the  darkness  shall  cover 
me,  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  to 
God.  No  earthly  veil  is  thick  enough,  no  earthly 
retreat  is  secret  enough,  no  earthly  night  is  dark 
enough.     But  let  it  be  known  that  he  who  con- 


154  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

vertet^i  iiini  from  tlie  error  of  his  way  shall  hide 
elfeetually  the  multitude  of  his  sins.  He  shall 
lead  him  to  appropriate,  by  faith,  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  which  will  cover  them  all  for  ever 
from  the  view  of  retributive  justice.  How  low 
an  estimate  should  we  place  upon  our  solicitude, 
and  pains-taking,  and  self-denial,  if  it  be  requi- 
site, in  comparison  with  such  a  result ! 

Nor  is  this,  by  any  means,  the  whole  of  the 
result  to  be  accomplished ;  he  "  shall  save  a,  soul 
from  death.^^  To  save  a  man's  body  from  death, 
when  it  is  imminently  threatened,  by  casualty  or 
disease,  is  deemed  a  great  achievement.  How 
much  greater  to  save  a  soul  from  death !  What 
is  the  mortal  body  compared  with  the  soul?  and 
even  in  an  extreme  case,  the  body  is  saved  from 
death  only  for  a  little  while,  for  soon  will  come 
the  crisis  in  which  no  human  power  or  skill  can 
baffle  the  all-conquering  destroyer.  But  the  soul 
once  saved  is  saved  for  ever;  "on  such  the  second 
death  hath  no  power."  To  save  a  mind  from 
ignorance,  by  conferring  upon  it  the  benefits  of 


MOTIVES   TO  EFFORT.  155 

education,  is  a  noble  work;  to  save  a  heart  from 
grief  by  preventing  calamity,  or  affording  conso- 
lation is  an  invaluable  favor;  but  what  are  these 
things  compared  with  saving  a  soul  from  death? 
Many  of  you,  doubtless,  have  read  or  heard  some 
account  of  that  remarkable  case  of  education 
which  occurred  some  time  ago,  in  one  of  our 
cities.  There  was  a  poor,  idiotic  boy,  whose  case 
was  deemed  hopeless  even  by  his  parents,  who 
might  have  been  expected  to  hope  against  hope; 
he  was  deformed,  helpless,  apparently  without 
ideas,  without  emotions,  and  almost  without  a 
spark  of  reason;  but  through  the  kindness,  and 
wise  judgment,  and  marvellous  patience,  and  per- 
severing labors  of  a  philanthropic  gentleman,  lie 
was  gradually  raised  to  a  considerable  degree  of 
mental  vigor  and  intelligence.  Who  does  not 
recognize  in  that  a  grand  achievement,  to  save  a 
soul  from  blank  idiotcy,  and  elevate  it  almost  to 
the  ordinary  standard  of  intelligence? 

But  what  is  that  even  compared  with  saving  a 
soul  from  death?     Estimate  if  you  can  the  value 


If)!)  KIUKPATllICK  MEMORIAL. 

of  the  soul ;  you  might  as  well  attempt  to  count 
the  grains  of  sand  upon  the  sea-shore.  Consider 
what  it  IS  saved  from  -,  our  worst  conception  of 
physical  death  is  almost  without  significancy  here. 
That  death  from  which  the  ransomed  soul  is 
saved  is  horrible  in  proportion  to  the  noble  nature 
of  the  soul,  and  as  lingering  as  immortality  is 
lasting.  Consider  too,  that  when  the  soul  is 
saved  from  death  that  is  not  all.  It  is  exalted  to 
tlie  beatific  presence  of  God,  and  filled  full  of  the 
rapture  of  everlasting  life. 

How  can  we  be  so  indifferent  about  the  con- 
version of  men,  or  do  so  little  to  secure  it,  when 
we  know  that  he  who  converteth  the  sinner  from 
the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death  ? 
Is  not  this  a  motive  sufficient  to  thrust  us  out  of 
our  slothfulness,  to  awaken  our  deepest  sympa- 
thies, and  incite  us  to  the  eager  seizure  and  dili- 
gent improvement  of  every  opportunity  of  effecting 
or  contributing  towards  the  conversion  of  our 
fellow-men?  And  when  the  souls  of  those  we 
]<)\'e  are  in  (juestion  how  much  stronger  the  in- 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  157 

diicement  to  pray  and  labor  for  their  conversion. 
Let  parents  look  upon  their  unregenerate  chil- 
dren, and  children  Ujoon  their  unregenerate 
parents ;  let  brothers  look  upon  their  unbelieving 
sisters,  and  sisters  upon  their  unbelieving  brothers, 
and  let  them  know,  and  let  them  meditate  upon 
it,  that  he  who  converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error 
of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death. 

We  are  not  left  to  be  moved  merely  by  the 
exceeding  desirableness  and  importance  of  the 
conversion  of  our  fellow-men,  considered  with 
reference  to  their  own  interests,  and  to  our  sym- 
pathies and  affections.  We  are  plied  here,  also, 
by  the  offer  of  a  great  reward.  If  we  are  instru- 
mental in  converting  any  from  the  error  of  his 
way,  not  only  will  the  results  be  such  as  have 
been  alluded  to,  but  we  have  the  haj)piness  of 
knowing  it.  How  great  is  that  happiness,  even 
here,  disturbed  as  it  often  is  by  uncertainty  about 
the  genuineness  of  conversion,  and  limited  as  it 
is  by  our  imperfect  knowledge  of  its  glorious 
results !     How  that  happiness  Avill  be  enhanced 

14 


158  KlRKPATlilVK  MEMORIAL. 

hereafter,  when  we  come  to  view  those  results  in 
the  light  of  eternity  !  AVhen  w^e  come  to  rejoice 
in  perfect  purity,  and  behold  the  glories  of  a 
peopled  world  all  without  a  stain,  then  we  shall 
know  more  truly  what  it  is  to  hide  a  multitude 
of  sins.  When  we  come  to  estimate  the  soul 
according  to  the  standard  employed  in  heaven, 
by  Him  who  sacrificed  himself  to  save  it,  and  by 
the  angels  who  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation, 
and  when  we  come  to  exult,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
in  the  safety  and  ecstacy  of  immortal  life,  then  we 
shall  know  more  truly  what  it  is  to  save  a  soul 
from  death.  And  then,  with  our  enlarged  know- 
ledge of  these  things,  what,  think  you,  will  it  be 
worth  to  reflect  that  we  have  been  instrumental 
in  converting  some  sinners  from  the  error  of  their 
ways  ?  Even  if  it  does  now  require  some  effort 
and  self-denial  to  gain  such  a  result,  what  then 
will  those  things  be  in  our  estimation  ?  .  .  .  . 

Suppose  we  should  meet  in  heaven  some  soul 
converted  through  our  instrumentality !  .  .  .  . 

Though  not  mentioned  here,  yet  it  is  distinctly 


MOTIVES  TO  EFFORT.  159 

revealed,  elsewhere,  and  is  not  to  be  overlooked 
in  our  meditations  upon  this  subject,  that  spe- 
cial rewards  will  be  bestowed  hereafter  upon  spe- 
cial efforts 


III. 

OPPOHrUNITIES  LOST. 

"  And  as  thy  servant  was  busy  here  and  there,  he  was  gone." 
1  Kings  XX.  40. 

IN  order  to  ascertain  the  significancy  of  these 
words^  and  to  make  a  legitimate  and  proper 
use  of  them,  let  us  trace  the  tenor  of  the  narra- 
tive in  which  we  find  them.  Benhadad,  the 
King  of  Syria,  gathered  all  his  host  together,  and 
with  the  aid  of  thirty  and  two  kings,  or  princes 
of  the  neighboring  countries,  who  were  probably 
his  allies  or  vassals,  "  went  up  and  besieged  Sa- 
maria, and  warred  against  it."  After  some  mes- 
sages had  passed  between  him  and  Ahab,  the 
King  of  Israel ;  boasting  and  insolent  upon  the 
part  of  Benhadad;  pusillanimous  and  fickle  at 
first,  but  finally  decided  upon  the  part  of  Aliab, 
the    battle   commenced.     Although   the   Syrians 

160  , 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  igj 

had  a  vast  advantage  in  numbers  and  strength, 
yet  by  the  miraculous  interposition  of  the  Lord 
of  Hosts,   they   were    defeated   with    enormous 
slaughter.      The   king,    however,    escaped   alive. 
His  servants,  attributing  the  victory  of  the  Israel- 
ites to  the  fact  that  their  gods  were  gods  of  the 
hills,  and  convincing  him  that  he  could  overcome 
them  upon  the  plains  induced  him  to  reorganize 
his  army,  and  renew  the  war  at  the  return  of  the 
year.     But  with  all  the  advantages  of  their  posi- 
tion, upon  which  they  placed  so  much  reliance, 
they  were   utterly  discomfited   before   the   little 
band  of  God's  chosen  people,  and  Benhadad  him- 
self sought  refuge  in  an  inner  chamber  in  the  city 
of  Aphek.     Yielding  again  to  the  urgent  advice 
of  his  servants,  he  suffered  them  to  go  to  Ahab, 
wearing  the  emblems  of  deep  mourning  and  hum- 
ble submission,  to  implore  his  clemency.     This 
wicked  king,  contrary  to  the  instructions  of  the 
Lord's   special    prophet,   showed    favor    to    the 
enemy  of  God's  people,  made  a  disadvantageous 
covenant  with  him,  and  sent  him  away.     For  this 

14* 


162  KIBKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

he  was  reproved  by  one  of  the  prophets  in  the 
parable  which  follows ;  "  And  a  certain  man  of 
the  sons  of  the  prophets  said  unto  his  neighbor 
in  the  word  of  the  Lord,  Smite  me,  I  pray  thee. 
And  the  man  refused  to  smite  him.  Then  said 
he  unto  him.  Because  thou  hast  not  obeyed  the 
voice  of  the  Lord,  behold,  as  soon  as  thou  art 
departed  from  me,  a  lion  shall  slay  thee.  And 
as  soon  as  he  ^vas  departed  from  him,  a  lion  found 
him,  and  slew  him.  Then  he  found  another  man, 
and  said.  Smite  me,  I  pray  thee.  And  the  man 
smote  him,  so  that  in  smiting  he  wounded  him. 
So  the  prophet  departed,  and  waited  for  the  king 
by  the  way,  and  disguised  himself  with  ashes 
upon  his  face.  And  as  the  king  passed  by,  he 
cried  unto  the  king :  and  he  said,  Thy  servant 
went  out  into  the  midst  of  the  battle ;  and  behold, 
a  man  turned  aside,  and  brought  a  man  unto  me, 
and  said.  Keep  this  man :  if  by  any  means  he  be 
missing,  then  shall  thy  life  be  for  his  life,  or  else 
thou  shalt  pay  a  talent  of  silver.  And  as  thy  ser- 
vant w^as  busy  here  and  there,  he  was  gone.     And 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  163 

the  king  of  Israel  said  unto  him,  So  shall  thy 
judgment  be;  thyself  hast  decided  it.  And  he 
hasted,  and  took  the  ashes  away  from  his  face; 
and  the  king  of  Israel  discerned  him  that  he  was 
of  the  prophets.  And  he  said  unto  him,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Because  thou  hast  let  go  out  of 
thy  hand  a  man  whom  I  appointed  to  utter  de- ' 
struction,  therefore  thy  life  shall  go  for  his  life, 
and  thy  people  for  his  people," 

The  main  features  of  this  whole  narrative,  as 
you  will  readily  perceive,  are  these;  God  had 
committed  to  Ahab  an  important  trust.  He  had 
proved  recreant  to  the  obligation,  the  opportunity 
of  discharging  it  had  passed,  and  the  forfeit  was 
to  be  paid.  He  perceived,  and  by  his  immediate 
sadness  and  displeasure  acknowledged  the  appli- 
cation of  the  parable  to  himself.  He  felt  the  in- 
evitable closeness  of  that  application  far  more 
severely  afterward,  no  doubt,  when  the  forfeit  of 
his  life  was  demanded  and  obtained  in  the  car- 
nage of  unsuccessful  war. 

And  now,  my  friends,  does  it  not  become  us  to 


164  KIBKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

inquire  whether  this  reproof  may  not  have  some 
application  to  ourselves  ?     As  Ahab  was  acting  in 
an  official  capacity  and  in  a  matter  involving  the 
welfare  of  Israel,   the  closest   analogy  is  to  be 
found  in  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the 
control  of  national  interests.     God  has  committed 
to  American  rulers  and  American  people  a  most 
important  and  sacred  trust,  even  the  guardianship 
of  the  rights,  the  safety,  the  altars,  the  homes, 
the  character,  the  true  welfare,  the  highest  and 
dearest  interests  of  a  great  Christian  nation.    The 
enemies  to  be  repelled  and  utterly  overthrown 
are  many  and  dangerous, — they  are  not  only  the 
Benhadads  of  foreign  dominion,  but  more  espe- 
cially such  as  these,  ignorance,  crime,  insubordi- 
nation, fanaticism.     If  intelligence  be  not  widely 
diffused ;  if  the  benefits  of  education  be  not  libe- 
rally disseminated ;  if  men  do  not  contend  ear- 
nestly for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints ; 
if  laws  be  not  made,  or  when  made,  be  not  en- 
forced, against  those  who,  fearing  not  God,  neither 
regarding  man,  would  make  the  Sabbath  a  day  of 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  165 

business  in  our  streets;  if  the  tables  of  these 
money-changers  in  the  temple  of  God  be  not  over- 
thrown ;  if  the  distinct  and  special  laws  of  God, 
even  though  they  require  the  shedding  of  blood, 
be  modified  by  the  morbid  sympaMiies  of  a  false 
philanthropy;  if  justice  be  not  dispensed  to  the 
guilty  as  well  as  the  innocent;  if  we  enter  into 
a  covenant  w^ith  our  enemies,  who  have  been 
appointed  to  destruction  by  God  himself,  upon 
any  such  dishonorable  and  ruinous  terms,  they 
will  insidiously  gather  strength  and  triumph  over 
us.  Ignorance  will  stalk  abroad  with  instru- 
ments of  cruelty  putting  out  the  very  eyes  of  men 
for  whom  God  has  prepared  bright  visions  of 
truth ;  fanaticism,  crime  and  anarchy  will  follow 
on,  like  hundred-handed  monsters,  to  complete 
the  ruin,  and  at  last,  the  only  account  we  can 
give  of  that  prosperity  wdiich  has  been  entrusted 
to  us,  will  be  in  words  like  these,  "As  thy  ser- 
vants were  busy  here  and  there,  it  was  gone/' 

This  national  field  of  observation  is  so  vast, 
and  the  objects  it  presents  are  so  many  and  va- 


166  KIRKPATRKJK  MEMORTAL. 

rious  that  it  is  (lifficultj  at  least  in  a  brief  view, 
to  keep  their  impressions  distinct, — the  responsi- 
bility is  shared  by  so  many  that  admonitions  seem 
to  lose  their  power.  But  there  are  narrower  ap- 
plications of  tkese  words  in  which  each  of  us  may 
feel  a  more  definite,  individual  interest.  For 
example,  there  have  been  entrusted  to  us  oppor- 
tunities of  usefulness.  First,  to  those  over  whom 
we  can  exert  an  immediate  influence.  If  you  are 
a  parent,  the  spiritual  welfare  of  your  child  has 
been,  in  a  large  measure,  committed  to  you  as  a 
most  i>recious  trust.  Fearful  dangers  surround 
him.  Cunning  and  malignant  enemies  lie  in  wait 
for  him.  His  liabilities  to  ruin  are  such  as  are 
devised  by  the  great  adversary  of  souls.  They 
are  such  as  the  hazards  of  the  world's  great  bat- 
tle-strife ;  such  as  the  strong,  evil  propensities  of 
an  apostate  nature.  Here,  moreover,  are  the  un- 
numbered temptations  peculiar  to  large  towns 
and  cities ;  those  insidious  temptations  that  have 
marred  so  many  fair  characters,  drowned  with 
their  syren  music  the  warning  voices  of  so  many 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  107 

consciences,  unbound  so  many  resolutions,  made 
so  many  outcasts,  blighted  so  many  hopes, 
crushed  so  many  joys,  broken  so  many  hearts, 
eternally  ruined  so  many  souls.  If  you  leave 
your  children  unnecessarily  exposed  to  these  temp- 
tations ;  if  you  do  not  exercise  a  watchful  Chris- 
tian guardianship  over  them ;  if  you  neglect  their 
religious  instruction ;  if  you  neglect  to  take  them 
with  you  to  the  throne  of  grace  and  commend 
them  to  the  omniscient  guardian  of  spirits ;  if  you 
do  not  endeavor  to  warn  tliem  of  their  danger, 
and  lead  them  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  time  may 
come  when  the  only  account  you  can  give  of  them 
will  be  in  such  mournful  words  as  these:  "As 
thy  servant  was  busy  here  and  there  he  was 
gone/' 

How  many  are  there  who  could  not  subscribe 
to  some  such  narrative  as  this?  I  knew  a  father 
and  mother  to  whom  was  committed  the  responsi- 
bility of  training  up  a  son  for  life-long,  extended 
usefulness  and  a  blessed  initnortality.  Parental 
indulgence  eagerly  (irntilicc!  all  the  changing  de- 


168  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

sires  of  his  childhood,  and  lavished  upon  him 
caresses  of  fondness,  and  smiles  of  pride.  It 
carefully  supplied  all  his  wants,  except  the  most 
urgent  of  all,  the  wants  of  his  moral  nature. 
Unhappily  free  from  restraint,  he  followed  his 
own  inclinations;  frequently,  in  their  dangerous 
tendency  to  evil,  they  directed  his  rambles  to  the 
places  where  idlers  resort,  or  to  scenes  of  wicked 
amusement.  He  caught  the  phrases  of  profanity 
as  they  floated  along  the  street.  He  loitered 
around  those  places  where  scenes  of  iniquity  are 
partially  concealed  by  suspicious-looking  curtains; 
where  the  ribald  jest  and  the  loud  laugh,  and  the 
rattling  of  dice  may  be  heard  mingling  together. 
He  wxnt  with  the  multitude  to  do  evil.  The 
temptations  became  stronger  and  more  numerous 
as  he  grew  older.  In  his  gaily  painted  boat  he 
glided  at  first,  at  a  distance,  and  as  he  thought 
safely,  around  the  whirlpool,  listening  to  the  far- 
off  roar  and  watching  the  sunlight  as  it  danced 
upon  the  foam;  then,  gradually  he  drew  nearer 
to  trace  the  bright  pathway  of  the  outer  circle, 


OPPOllTUNiTlES  LOST.  169 

and  then  he  followed  circle  after  circle  as  they 
became  narrower  and  narrower ;  faster  and  faster 
flew  his  fragile  bark,  and  intoxicated  by  the  ex- 
citement of  the  whirl  and  the  roar  of  the  dashing 
current,  he  threw  down  his  useless  oars,  and  sent 
up  through  the  sparkling  spray  loud  and  louder 
laughs  of  recklessness,  until  in  the  very  midst  of 
his  hilarity  he  was  caught  by  the  maniac  waters 
and  hurled  into  the  boiling  vortex;  and  as  his 
parents  were  "  busy  here  and  there,  he  was  gone." 
In  ten  thousand  such  narratives  the  blanks 
might  be  filled  up  with  names  that  are  seldom 
mentioned,  and  then  always  with  a  sigh;  names 
that  lie  in  some  memories  like  pieces  of  ice  upon 
the  wrist.  O  ye  who  are  parents,  beware  lest 
through  your  inadvertence  or  neglect  your  sons 
should  be  snatched  away  as  so  many  have  been, 
and  you  be  left  to  make  the  sad  acknowledgment 
of  the  text.  How  often  in  a  city,  at  the  corners 
of  the  streets  is  the  attention  called  to  the  fact 
that  while  some  parents  or  servants  have  been 
busy  here  and  there  a  child  lias  been  lost?     AV^hat 

15 


170  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

would  be  your  feelings,  think  you,  if  your  child 
should  be  thus  lost,  and  search  should  be  made  in 
vain?  and  can  you  go  from  one  to  another  of  the 
ordinary,  perhaps  trifling  engagements  of  every- 
day life,  and  neglect  the  souls  of  your  children 
until  suddenly  they  be  gone  for  ever  beyond  the 
call  of  any  messenger? 

Perhaps  you  have  a  brother  or  a  sister,  or  some 
near  friend  over  whom  you  can  exert  a  powerful 
influence.  In  just  so  far  as  that  influence  may 
extend  that  brother  or  friend  is  entrusted  to  you. 
Oh,  be  not  recreant  to  your  obligation;  turn  not 
neglectfully  away.  That  friend  is  in  danger;  the 
battle  is  raging  around  him.  He  may  be  snatched 
away  before  you  are  aware,  and  what  then  will  be 
your  account  of  the  trust?  Will  you  be  justifi- 
able upon  the  ground  that  he  was  never  directly 
and  formally  committed  to  your  care?  Suppose 
that  same  relative  or  friend  had  fallen  into  the 
river,  and  you  were  standing  upon  the  bank,  look- 
ing at  him  as  he  struggled  in  the  pitiless  Avaters, 
as  lie  caught  at  useless  straws,  as  he  sank  and  rose 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  171 

again,  as  he  turned  a  last  momentary  glance  of 
hopeless  agony  toward  the  home  of  those  he  loved, 
would  you  turn  aw^ay  and  say  "  he  has  never  been 
specially  committed  to  my  care;  I  esteem  him 
highly  but  I  have  never  been  formally  constituted 
his  guardian,  and  therefore  I  need  not  offer  him 
any  assistance?''  No;  unless  your  heart  has 
already  become  the  frozen  sepulchre  of  all  your 
sympathies,  you  would  forget  all  such  miserable 
sophistry,  the  ignoble  excuses  of  cowardice,  per- 
haps even  your  own  safety,  and  exert  your  utmost 
strength  to  rescue  him  from  his  peril.  If  uncon- 
verted, he  is  even  now  in  danger  of  a  far  more 
terrible  doom  than  drowning  in  the  waters  w^liose 
mournful  roar  can  be  heard  where  his  loved  ones 
vainly  await  his  return.  He  is  in  danger  of  sink- 
ing amid  the  surging  billows  of  everlasting  fire. 
Your  influence  may  do  much  toward  saving  him, 
and  will  you  turn  away  and  leave  him  sliding 
recklessly  toward  the  fatal  brink?  Will  you 
leave  him  to  perish  without  an  effort  upon  your 
part,  because  no  audible  voice  from  Heaven  has 


172  KIRKPATIIICK  MEMORIAL. 

entrusted  him  to  your  sole  guardianship,  repeat- 
ing that  first  contemptuous  inquiry  of  selfishness, 
"Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?" 

Will  you  be  justifiable  upon  the  ground  that 
you  were  "busy  here  and  there?''  Are  you 
necessarily  so  occupied  that  you  can  make  no 
special  effort  to  lead  to  the  Lamb  of  God  those 
over  whom  his  providence  has  given  you  an  im- 
mediate influence  ?  It  is  our  duty  to  be  "  dili- 
gent in  business/'  but  are  the  demands  of  business 
more  important  than  the  salvation  of  a  soul? 
Let  me  suppose  a  case,  by  way  of  partial  illustra- 
tion. Your  relative  or  friend  is  ill,  and  the  house 
in  which  he  is  lying  takes  fire.  The  relentless 
destroyer  rages  more  and  more  furiously,  the 
winds  eagerly  join  in  the  work  of  ruin.  The  flames 
leap  up  as  if  with  the  fiendish  laughter  of  con- 
scious malignity  and  cast  their  fatal  contagion 
upon  the  roof.  Clouds  of  smoke  burst  through 
every  opening,  here  and  there  is  heard  the  crash 
of  falling  timber,  and  soon  the  whole  building 
seems  to  struggle  like  a  thing  of  life  in  the  deadly 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  173 

embrace  of  the  fell  destroyer.  Do  you  pass  by 
the  scene  of  terror,  regardless  of  the  fate  of  your 
friend,  and  hurry  away  on  some  errand  of  busi- 
ness? You  meet  some  one,  prompted  by  mere 
ordinary  sympathy,  running  with  breathless  haste 
toward  the  conflagration.  He  exclaims  in 
amazement,  "Where  are  you  going?  Your 
friend's  house  is  in  flames ;  the  fire  is  furious,  he 
is  ill  and  helpless,  he'll  be  injured,  suffocated, 
burned  up !''  Do  you  reply,  "  I  have  need  to  be 
busy  here  and  there,"  and  then  go  calmly  on? 
No !  you  seize  the  first  ladder  that  can  be  ob- 
tained, forgetful  alike  of  business  and  danger. 
With  a  daring  spirit  you  mount  to  the  window; 
you  buffet  the  mingling  flames  and  smoke ;  you 
hold  your  breath;  you  leap  into  the  room  and 
with  the  strength  of  frenzy  and  the  generous 
assistance  of  others,  you  drag  the  fainting  sufferer 
out  beyond  the  reach  of  harm,  and  the  glad  shout 
goes  up  from  a  hundred  friendly  hearts,  "  He  is 
safe,  he  is  safe !'' 

Have  you  not  some  friend  who  is  in  imminent 

15* 


174  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

danger  of  sinking  to  eternal  perdition,  "where 
their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
qnenched?"  It  may  be  that  yonr  influence  might 
be  made  the  means  of  saving  his  soul.  Is  your 
conscience  satisfied  with  the  reflection, — and  if 
you  should  survive  him  to  remember  his  dying 
agony,  will  your  conscience  then  be  satisfied  with 
the  reflection,  that  you  were  called  to  be  "  busy 
here  and  there,''  and  while  you  were  busy  he  was 
gone?  O,  let  not  the  demands  of  worldliness, 
however  numerous  and  loud  they  may  be,  lead 
you  to  neglect  the  eternal  welfare  of  those  whom 
God  has  placed  within  the  sphere  of  your  imme- 
diate influence. 

Finally,  life  has  been  entrusted  to  you  as  the 
time  to  prepare  for  eternity.  It  is  passing  rapidly 
away.  Its  duration  is  wholly  uncertain,  every 
moment  is  precious.  You  must  account  for  it 
all,  as  an  invaluable  trust,  at  the  bar  of  God.  It 
is  the  time  to  serve  the  Lord ;  the  time  "  to  in- 
sure the  great  reward.''  As  such  it  is  to  be 
accounted  for  at  the  bar  of  God.     O !  what  an 


OPPORTUNITIES  LOST.  175 

account  will  this  be  to  render  to  the  Judge  upon 
the  great  white  throne !  "  As  thy  servant  was 
busy  here  and  there,  it  was  gone."  And  if  the 
Judge  should  ask  you  with  what  were  you  busy, 
oh,  what  would  be  your  answer?  Standing  so  near 
those  mansions  that  are  to  resound  for  ever  with 
the  impromj)tu  songs  of  perfect  bliss,  will  you 
dare  to  answer,  "  I  was  busy  enjoying  the  plea- 
sures of  the  world — the  paltry,  sickening,  poison- 
ous pleasures  of  the  sinful  world  ?"  Standing  so 
near  the  jasper  walls  and  pearly  gates  of  the  holy 
city,  within  which  are  laid  up  such  stores  of 
never-fading  treasures,  and  looking  first  upon  the 
flashing  gems  of  every  hue,  the  golden  streets, 
the  nameless  riches  and  unguessed  splendors  of 
heaven,  and  then  back  upon  the  smoking,  dying 
embers  of  the  world,  will  you  dare  to  answer,  "  I 
was  busy  laying  up  treasures  upon  earth?" 
Standing  in  the  very  presence  of  that  God  who 
made  you,  in  whom  you  lived  and  moved  and 
had  your  being,  by  whose  bounty  you  were  fed 
and  clothed,  whose  air  you  breathed;  standing 


176  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

ill  the  presence  of  that  God,  who  had  a  sovereign 
claim  upon  your  supreme  aifections,  and  all  your 
powers,  and  who  asserted  that  claim  in  every 
blessing  of  your  life,  and  finally  in  your  inevi- 
table death,  will  you  dare  to  answer,  ^^  I  was 
busy  serving  mammon  ?" 

Would  you  make  a  proper  use  of  this  life  which 
has  been  entrusted  to  you,  with  all  its  privileges? 
then  cherish  the  influences  of  the  gospel — of  the 
Holy  Ghost — of  Christian  friends — of  Sabbaths — 
of  divine  ordinances.  .  .  . 


IV. 

THE  HUMAN  LJEVEL, 

The  rich  and  poor  meet  together  j  the  Lord  is  the  maker  of 
them  all.     Proverbs  xxii.  2. 

QjOME  of  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  are  ex- 
^  pressed  in  general  terms,  and  have  reference 
to  abstract  truths.  The  most  of  them  are  ex- 
pressed in  specific  terms  designed  for  general 
application.  Such  is  the  one  now  before  us. 
The  terms  rich  and  poor  have  reference,  not  only 
to  the  difference  in  point  of  wealth,  in  the  strict 
meaning  of  the  term,  but  to  the  whole  class  of 
social  inequalities  which  are  included  within  the 
range  of  this  familiar  contrast.  Nor  does  the 
latter  clause,  "the  Lord  is  the  maker  of  them 
all,^'  refer  solely  to  our  relation  to  God  as  the 
Creator,  but  to  all  the  relations  we  sustain  to 
Him ;  as  if  it  were  said,  all  classes  of  society  meet 

together;  they  have  all  one  God. 

177 


178  KIRKPAlTdCK  MEMORIAL. 

The  whole  force  of  the  proverb  depends  upon 
the  close  and  vital  connection  between  the  two 
clauses.  Not  merely  are  there  two  such  classes 
as  the  rich  and  poor  really  existing;  not  merely 
do  they  meet  together  in  the  various  walks  of 
life,  and  in  places  of  promiscuous  resort — it  would 
be  a  meagre  proverb  if  that  were  all  its  meaning. 
The  rich  and  poor  do,  indeed,  meet  together  in 
many  ways  and  many  places,  but  the  far  greater 
truth  to  be  found  in  the  text,  is  that  they  all  meet 
at  4;his  one  point ;  in  this  one  immutable  fact,  viz. : 
that  they  sustain  common  relations  to  the  same 
God.  Whatever  their  social  distinctions,  and 
inequalities,  here  they  stand  upon  common  ground. 
The  main  object  of  this  discourse  is  to  bring  to 
view  some  particulars  included  in  this  general 
statement :  to  bring  to  view  some  points  in  which 
they  meet  together,  in  order  to  show  that  the  only 
effectual  remedy  of  social  evils  and  inequalities  is 
the  true  religion  of  the  gospel,  and  that  all  classes 
need  that  religion. 

I.  They  have  a  common  origin.     "The  Lord 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL.  I79 

is  the  maker  of  them  all."  ^^He  hath  made  of 
one  blood  all  nations.''  This  does  not  set  at 
naught  the  value  of  descent  from  the  noble,  the 
great,  the  wise,  the  good. 

There    are    family    characteristics    distinctly 
marked,    estimable    or    contemptible,    lovely   or 
odious;  there  are  hereditary  excellences  and  de- 
fects; there  are  real  advantages  belonging  to  the 
lineage  of  true  nobility;  there  are  real  disadvan- 
tages  cleaving   to   the   lineage  of  poverty,  and 
obscure  lowliness.     The  children  of  the  rich  may 
have  access  to  means  of  improvement,  and  some- 
times to  positions  of  usefulness,  from  which  the 
children  of  the  poor  are  debarred  by  their  circum- 
stances.    And  yet,  on  the  one  hand,  the  advan- 
tages are  often  utterly  squandered,  or  perverted 
into  occasions  of  harm,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  disadvantages  are  often  triumphantly  over- 
come.    "What   then?"    one   may  ask;    "If  my 
great-grandfather  was  a  duke  or  a  millionaire,  am 
I   not,  on    that   account   alone,  superior    to    my 
neighbor  whose  ancestors  were  poor  day-laborers?" 


180  KIRKPATEICK  MEMORIAL. 

Not  a  wliit,  unless  you  are  wiser  and  better  on 
that  account.  "What  then/'  another  may  ask; 
"Am  I  an  heir  of  fortune  and  fame  to  be  thrust 
down  to  a  level  with  the  nameless  child  of  pov- 
erty?'' Not  necessarily,  and  yet,  you  may  sink 
lower  in  reality.  That  depends  upon  your  cha- 
racter and  his.  But  in  regard  to  your  origin 
alone ;  in  regard  to  your  origin  considered  apart 
from  its  actual  results  as  they  appear  in  your  ex- 
cellency of  character,  you  can  claim  no  sort  of 
superiority.  One  boasts,  I  was  born  in  a  palace; 
another  acknowledges,  I  was  born  in  a  hut ;  Solo- 
mon says,  "The  rich  and  poor  meet  together;  the 
Lord  is  the  maker  of  them  all." 

Here  let  me  disclaim  any  intention  of  rebuking 
that  personal  gratification  which  many  enjoy  in 
tracing  their  lineage  through  noble  channels, 
back  to  noble  sources.  Let  me  disclaim  any  in- 
tention of  undervaluing  what  men  are  pleased  to 
call  the  science  of  heraldry,  and  any  intention  of 
undertaking  to  decide,  either  way,  the  long-con- 
tinued controversy  between   the  aristocracy  and 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL.  181 

the  commonalty.  Without  denying  the  reality, 
or  the  validity,  or  the  importance,  or  even  the 
neceSvsity  of  such  distinctions  in  society,  but  sim- 
l^ly  leaving  them  out  of  view,  for  the  present, — 
let  us  fall  back  upon  the  fundamental  truth  that 
all  classes  meet  together  in  their  proper  origin, 
since  '^  the  Lord  is  the  maker  of  them  all/' 

It  follows,  both  logically  and  theologically, 
that  all  men  are  brethren.  Do  not  recur  at  once 
to  some  ragged  vagrant  whom  you  have  recently 
met,  and  ask,  with  indignation,  is  he  my  brother? 
Be  calm,  while  I  presume  to  answer.  He  is. 
He  may  be  a  degraded  brother.  You  may  be, 
by  the  sovereign  pleasure  of  God,  a  favored  bro- 
ther ;  but  remember  who  hath  made  you  to  differ ; 
and  remember,  too,  that  this  difference,  wide 
though  it  be,  does  not  dissolve  the  relationship. 
Though  your  brother  be  an  outcast,  though  you 
may  disown  him,  yet  you  cannot  cut  the  tie  of 
nature  by  which  you  are  bound  together.  AYhat 
follows  ?     Manifestly  this, — that  we  should  treat 

all   men   Avith   whom   we  meet,   as   brethren    by 
16 


182  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

nature.  This  is  not  to  be  pressed  to  tlie  extreme^ 
even  in  theory.  It  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  we  are  to  treat  all  men  alike  under  all  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  not  incompatible  with  all 
preferences  and  partialities.  The  gospel  itself 
sanctions  a  preference  in  our  treatment  of  others. 
"Do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  unto  those  who 
are  of  the  household  of  faith.''  The  principle  is 
recognized  in  Scripture  that  some  men  have  spe- 
cial claims  upon  our  esteem  and  our  beneficence. 
We  are  not  required  to  regard  the  base  and  the 
honorable,  the  mean  and  the  geneipus,  the  repul- 
sive and  the  amiable  with  precisely  the  same  feel- 
ings. But  still,  with  modifications  of  this  sort, 
which  do  not  all  affect  the  essential  idea  contained 
in  the  proposition,  it  remains  true  that  we  are 
bound  to  treat  all  men  as  brethren.  Such  is  the 
true  spirit  of  evangelical  religion,  and  thus  we 
see,  from  this  point  of  view,  how  that  religion  is 
adapted  to  remove  or  correct  innumerable  social 
evils.  For,  without  dwelling  upon  the  details  of 
the  matter,  we  may  see,  at  a  glance,  what  a  great 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL,  133 

and  glorious  change  would  be  wrought  in  the 
whole  condition  of  society,  if  it  was  only  pervaded 
by  this  genuine,  practical  brotherly-kindness 
which  the  gospel  enjoins. 

Before  leaving  this  topic,  the  sameness  of  ori- 
ginal nature,  let  us  take  another  point  of  observa- 
tion. ^V'hile  it  is  true  that  the  Lord  is  the  maker 
of  all  classes  of  men, — still,  as  was  remarked  a 
while  ago,  this  does  not  set  at  nought  the  value 
of  descent  from  the  rich  or  the  great.  There  are 
real  advantages  belonging  to  sucli  a  descent. 
But  in  what  do  those  real  advantages  consist? 
In  abundant  means  of  self-improvement,  and  in 
the  greater  opportunities  of  exerting  a  wide- 
spread influence  for  good.  And  here,  we  may  see 
again  how  true  religion  is  adapted  to  remove  the 
lamented  evils  of  society ;  for  if  the  rich  and  the 
great  were  also  devotedly  pious,  and  would  train 
up  their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord,  and  dedicate  them  to  his  service, — 
and  if  the  children  of  the  rich  and  the  great  were 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel, 


184  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL, 

who  does  not  see  liow  they  would  be  led  to  use 
their  distinguishing  means,  and  their  paramount 
influence,  to  relieve,  and  enlighten,  and  elevate 
their  less-favored  fellow-men?  If  the  boasted 
advantages  of  birth,  and  the  consequent  facilities 
of  usefulness  were  all  sincerely  consecrated  to  the 
honor  of  God  and  religion,  what  a  blessed  trans- 
formation would  thus  be  wrought  in  the  condition 
of  society,  and  how  many  mere  nominal,  and  yet 
deplorable  distinctions  would  thus  be  obliterated ! 
II.  "  The  rich  and  poor  meet  together,"  as  to 
their  natural  condition.  All  such  classes  are 
alike  in  this ;  they  are  all  fallen,  depraved,  sinful 
creatures.  It  follows  that  they  all  need  the  reli- 
gion of  the  gospel.  They  all  need  the  transform- 
ing power  of  divine  grace ;  they  all  need  its  con- 
solations ;  they  all  need  "  wisdom  and  righteous- 
ness, and  sanctification  and  redemption."  How- 
ever affluent  may  be  some,  and  however  indigent 
others,  however  learned  may  be  some,  and  how- 
ever ignorant  others, — however  high,  or  however 
low,  they  are  all  burdened  with  the  same  neces- 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL.  185 

sity ;  they  are  all  under  condeniiiatioii ;  no  worldly 
superiority  can  aiford  them  exemption.    '^  God  is 
no  respecter  of  persons."     In  regard  to  their  con- 
dition, and  spiritual  necessities,  they  meet  together 
now;  hereafter  they  must  meet  together  at  the 
bar  of  God,  and  if  not  forgiven  and  redeemed, 
they  must  meet  together  in  the  world  of  woe. 
Some  who  are  overlooked,  derided,  spurned  here, 
will  be  companions  there ;  some  who  are  looked 
upon   with   awe,   or  fear,  or   raging  envy  here, 
will  be  only  companions  there.    But,  if  all  classes 
meet  together  as  to  their  natural  condition,  if  all 
are  depraved  creatures, — it  follows^  not  only  that 
all  need  religion  as  the  only  security  for  their 
everlasting  welfare,  but  also  that  this  same  reli- 
gion is  adapted  to  remove  the  obstacles  that  exist 
between  these  different  classes  in  this  world,  and 
to    shorten    the    interval    between    them.     The 
miserable  condition  of  society  is  not  due  to  the 
mere  existence  of  different  classes,  but  rather  to 
their  feelings  and  conduct  toward  one  another; 
envy,  jealousy,  ambition,  dejection,  an  oppressive 

16* 


186  KIRKPATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

sense  of  the  contempt  of  others;  pride,  scorn, 
selfishness,  false  notions  of  honor, — these,  and 
such  as  these,  are  the  chief  sources  of  what  men 
are  accustomed  to  call  social  evils.  Their  pol- 
luted fountain  is  in  the  depravity  of  human 
nature.  The  j)roper  corrective  is  true  religion. 
This  tends  to  remove  pride  on  the  one  hand,  and 
envy  on  the  other;  it  tends  to  beget  a  kindly 
charity  on  the  one  hand,  and  contentment  on  the 
other ;  it  tends  to  nourish  a  magnanimous  libe- 
rality on  the  one  hand,  and  by  this  very  means  to 
effect  a  real  elevation  on  the  other.  If  a  rich 
man  is  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Christ,  who  veiled 
his  Godhead,  and  ate  with  publicans  and  sinners, 
he  will  not  look  haughtily  nor  scornfully  upon 
his  indigent  neighbor.  If  a  poor  man  is  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  Christ,  who  never  complained 
though  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  he  will 
not  be  tortured  with  morbid  jealousies,  but  cherish 
a  quiet  satisfaction  with  his  lowly  lot,  while  he 
actually  rises  in  the  esteem  of  all  who  estimate 
worth  by  the  right  standard.     So,  in  general,  in 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL.  I87 

regard  to  all  the  extreme  divisions  of  men ;  the 
real  evils  which  belong  to  them  are  such  as  spring 
from  the  common  depravity  of  men.  Therefore, 
the  remedy  is  regeneration  and  sanctification.  If 
this  remedy  be  applied  to  all  classes,  the  needed 
compromise  will  be  effected,— and  thus,  true  reli- 
gion, though  it  may  not  bring  all  classes  into  one, 
is  yet  adapted  to  bring  all  classes  into  harmony. 

III.  "The  rich  and  poor  meet  together"  in 
this ;  they  are  all  subject  to  the  same  law.  The 
sum  of  that  law  is  this:  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."  The  high  are  bound  to  love  the  low, 
and  the  low  are  bound  to  love  the  high;  the  rich 
are  bound  to  love  the  poor,  and  the  poor  the  rich. 
Whatever  the  ground  of  distinction  may  be,  and 
however  wide  the  distinction,  the  command  is 
that  it  shall  be  overreached  by  love.  "Love  suf- 
fereth  long  and  is  kind,  envieth  not,  seeketh  not 
her  own,  is  not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil, 
beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth 
all  things,  endureth  all  things,  never  faileth." 


188  KIRKFA  TRICK  MEMORIAL. 

'* Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law;"  love  is  the 
heart  of  religion.  The  more  this  great  obligation 
of  the  law  is  acknowledged  and  felt,  the  more 
pure  religion  abounds,  the  greater  will  be  the 
prevalence  of  peace  and  concord,  and  mutual  wel- 
fare, among  all  classes  of  men.  Mere  philan- 
thropy will  not  answer  the  purpose.  It  is  too 
impulsive  and  too  feeble,  because  it  is  divorced 
from  a  sense  of  duty.  The  charity  which  is 
requisite  to  overcome  the  obstacles  which  lie  be- 
tween the  different  social  departments  is  that 
which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  that  which 
springs  out  of  supreme  love  to  God,  that  which 
is  characteristic  of  evangelical  piety,  and  is  to  be 
found  nowhere  else.  Hence,  the  more  widely 
evangelical  piety  prevails,  the  more  will  men  of 
all  grades  and  conditions  be  led  ^'to  keep  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace." 

IV.  "The  rich  and  poor  meet  together"  in 
this ;  they  must  all  be  saved  upon  the  same  con- 
ditions. "There  is  no  royal  road"  to  heaven; 
there  is  no  aristocratic  way  of  salvation.     They 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL,  189 

must  kneel  at  the  same  mercy-seat;  they  must 
believe  in  the  same  Saviour;  they  must  sit  at  the 
same  communion  table;  they  must  carry  on  the 
same  warfare;  they  must  run  the  same  race,  and 
they  look  forward  to  the  time  when  they  shall 
stand  together  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  Thus 
religion  gives  men  an  identity  of  interests,  a  com- 
mon experience,  common  hopes;  it  brings  them 
into  fellowship  under  the  most  solemn  and  sacred 
influences,  and  thus  its  direct  tendency  is  to 
equalize,  familiarize,  and  harmonize  all  ranks  of 
men. 

In  the  light  of  this  subject  we  see  (1)  the  im- 
portance of  religion  in  its  mere  worldly  bearings. 
Strange  that  men  who  profess  to  desire  the  peace 
and  welfare  of  the  community  and  the  race,  should 
contemn  or  overlook  religion  as  the  great  means 
of  securing  that  peace  and  welfare.  Agrarianism, 
socialism,  philanthropic  associations,  mere  intel- 
lectual culture,  all  such  schemes  and  agencies  are 
inadequate  because  they  are  superficial;  they  en- 
deavor to  remove  the  evil  effects  while  they  leave 


190  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL, 

the  causes  undisturbed,  in  active  operation.     Re- 
ligion strikes  at  the  root,  of  all  real  social  evils. 

(2).  The  importance,  the  duty,  of  endeavoring 
to  promote  the  prevalence  of  religion.  The  phl- 
lanthroj^ist,  if  he  be  nothing  more,  yet  if  he 
would  do  his  utmost,  if  he  would  do  that  which 
is  worth  doing,  for  the  benefit  of  his  race,  let  him 
take  this  method  of  manifesting  his  philanthropy. 
The  good  citizen,  if  he  be  nothing  more,  yet  if  he 
Avould  prove  himself  to  be  that,  let  him  take  this 
method  of  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  lives.  It  is  the  surest  method. 
It  is  the  method  by  which  he  can  accomplish 
most.  The  most  injurious  members  of  commu- 
nity, so  far  as  their  influence  extends,  are  those 
who  oppose  or  discountenance  religion;  the  men 
most  useful  to  the  community  are  those  who  do 
most  to  encourage  and  promote  vital  godliness, 
and  to  maintain,  and  make  successful,  the  ordained 
means  of  grace.  It  is  a  great  mistake^  to  suppose 
that  religion  is  solely  a  personal  matter,  and  is 
designed  to  secure  only  the  s^^iritual  welfare  of 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL.  igj 

the  soul.  It  is  the  greatest  blessing  that  can  be 
bestowed  upon  human  society  considered  in  refer- 
ence to  its  common  worldly  interests. 

Here  it  may  be  objected  that  Christianity  has 
long  been  exerting  its  varied  influences,  and  so- 
ciety is  still  infested  by  many  and  great  evils. 
In  answer  to  this  objection,  three  remarks  may  be 
made. 

First.  The  design  of  the  foregoing  remarks  has 
been  not  so  much  to  describe  what  religion  has 
done  or  is  doing,  as  to  show  what  it  is  adapted 
to  do. 

Secondly.  A  candid  exaraination  of  the  history 
and  present  state  of  the  world  is  enough  to  con- 
vince any  one  that  the  state  of  society  is,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  better,  in  Christian  than  in 
heathen  lands;  that  it  is  better  where  genuine 
Christianity  prevails  than  where  a  corrupt  Chris- 
tianity is  dominant;  compare,  for  example,  pro- 
testant  Scotland  with  papal  Ireland.  Come  to 
narrower  fields  of  observation.  Is  there  not  far 
more  of  social  equality,  and  social  concord,  and 


192  KTRKPA  TRICK  MEMORIAL. 

common  social  enjoyment  in  thoroughly  religions, 
than  in  thoroughly  irreligious  communities?  Do 
not  these  social  blessings  abound  more  in  churches 
which  are  distinguished  for  godliness,  than  in 
those  which  are  worldly  and  formal?  Yes;  true 
religion  has,  in  very  deed,  greatly  blessed  society 
in  the  very  ways  that  have  been  mentioned. 

Thirdly,  It  is  adapted  to  accomplish  in  those 
ways  immensely  more.  The  simple  reason  why 
it  has  effected  so  little,  comparatively,  is  that 
there  has  been  really  so  little  of  it  at  work ;  and 
therefore  the  fact  that  it  has  accomplished  so 
little,  should  rather  be  regarded  as  the  fact  that 
there  is  so  much  yet  to  be  accomplished  in  order 
to  make  society  what  it  ought  to  be.  Thus  this 
fact,  instead  of  being  a  valid  objection  to  the  view 
we  have  taken  of  the  subject,  is  found,  after  all, 
to  be  the  great  reason  why  all  who  are  interested 
in  the  mutual  welfare  of  all  classes  should  use 
tlieir  utmost  influence  to  maintain,  and  promote, 
luid  give  far  greater  success  to  the  genuine  reli- 
gion of  the  gospel. 


THE  HUMAN  LEVEL,  igiS 

To  Christians,  especially,  this  subject  presents 
11  higher  motive.  "  The  rich  and  poor  meet  to- 
gether, and  the  Lord  is  the  maker  of  them  all." 
In  other  words,  in  their  relations  to  God,  they  all 
stand  upon  the  same  ground.  They  are  all  sin- 
ners by  nature  and  by  practice ;  unless  converted 
they  are  all  condemned.  They  are  all  to  stand 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  They  are  all 
to  be  saved  or  lost.  Eternity  will  be  as  long,  the 
second  death  will  be  as  terrible,  and  everlasting 
life  will  be  as  precious,  to  one  as  to  another. 
Hence  it  is  our  duty  to  exert  ourselves  for  the 
salvation  of  all  classes.  When  Christ  came  it 
was  said,  "The  poor  have  the  gospel  preached 
unto  them."  They  ought  to  have,  they  must 
have,  they  will  be  for  ever  undone  without  it. 
We  must  preach  the  gospel  to  them ;  we  must 
send  the  gospel  to  them.  When  Peter  was  sent 
to  preach  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  a  voice  from 
Heaven  said  unto  him,  "  What  God  hath  cleansed, 
that  call   not  thou    common   or  unclean."     The 

gospel   does   not   belong  to   the   favored   classes 
17 


194  KIRKPATUWK  MEMORIAL. 

alone, — it  does  not  belong  alone  to  those  who  can 
aiford  to  build  handsome  churches.  It  is  adapted 
to  all;  it  is  indispensable  to  all,  and  it  is  the 
solemn  duty  of  those  who  enjoy  its  blessings  to 
send  it  with  all  its  treasures  of  life  and  immor- 
tality to  those  who  are  destitute  in  other  lands, 
and  in  other  parts  of  our  own  land,  and  to  use 
all  proper  means  to  bring  the  neglected  classes 
immediately  around  them  under  these  transform- 
ing and  saving  influences. 

Finally,  this  subject  admits  of  a  more  directly 
personal  application.  The  rich  must  become 
poor  in  spirit,  and  the  poor  must  become  rich  in 
faith.  Men  of  all  classes  and  conditions  must 
humble  themselves  before  God,  must  acknowledge 
their  guilt,  must  renounce  the  world,  must  accept 
salvation  as  a  gift  of  free  grace 


V. 

THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SOBROW. 

For  godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance  to  salvation,  not  to  be 
repented  of;  but  the  sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death.  2  Co- 
rinthians vii.  10. 

rpmS  fallen  world  is  full  of  sorrow.  Go  whither 
-^  you  will,  you  will  find  its  causes ;  its  unmis- 
takable tokens ;  its  familiar  emblems ;  its  doleful, 
or  its  happy  results.  There  are  happy  homes; 
but  there  is  sorrow  even  in  the  midst  of  them. 
There  are  stories  of  Elysian  fields  and  Utopian 
isles,  and  Fairy  palaces,  but  no  mortal  has  jour- 
neyed beyond  the  dark-shaded  domain  of  sorrow, 
except  in  his  dreams,  waking  or  sleeping.  It 
has  a  large  share  in  the  mighty  work  of  swaying 
the  world ;  it  has  a  language  of  its  own,  common 
to  all  nations  and  all  times,  by  which  wanderers 
from  the  most  distant  lands  can  freely  mingle 
their  emotions  of  grief  and  sympathy. 

195 


196  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

The  operations  of  sorrow  are  wonderfully 
various ;  to  one,  it  is  a  burden,  pressing  the  soul 
down  into  tiie  deep  of  death, — to  another,  it  is  a 
buoy  iijion  which  he  floats  over  the  sea  of  life 
into  the  haven  of  eternal  rest ;  here  it  grows  mor- 
bidly to  madness, — there  it  blooms  into  everlast- 
ing delight.  While,  in  every  case,  it  is  the  con- 
sequence of  sin ;  in  one,  it  still  leads  on  to  sin  ; 
in  another,  it  is  the  first  step  toward  complete 
deliverance  from  evil.  The  Apostle  here  specifies 
two  forms  of  sorrow. 

I.  Consider  the  sorrow  of  the  world.  Of  this 
there  are  three  kinds.  (1)  That  which  arises 
from  a  fear  of  the  punishment  due  for  sin,  and 
yet  not  accompanied  with  any  hatred  of  moral 
evil.  Doubtless  every  man  has  known  by  expe- 
rience something  of  this.  For  even  without  the 
gospel,  and  without  the  written  law,  men  have  a 
consciousness  of  guilt  more  or  less  distinct ;  "  For 
when  the  Gentiles  which  have  not  the  law,  do 
by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these 
having  not  the  law  ai*e  a  law  unto  themselves; 


THE   TWO   FORMS   OF  SORROW.         197 

which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts ;  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and 
their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else 
excusing  one  another/'  No  man  is  a  stranger  to 
this  fear  of  punishment,  this  legal  conviction ; 
and  it  is  vain  for  any  man,  infidel  or  moralist, 
utterly  to  disclaim  the  regrets  that  spring  out  of 
it.  Whatever  the  obduracy  and  recklessness, 
which  he  would  fain  dignify  with  nobler  names, 
he  has  felt  and  mourned  that  he  was  under  con- 
demnation. This  is  indeed,  as  we  shall  see,  one 
element  of  a  better  kind  of  sorrow,  but  of  itself, 
it  brings  forth  no  good  fruit.  A  man  may  pos- 
sibly cherish  it  until  he  has  no  joy,  no  peace,  no 
rest,  and  yet  make  no  further  advancement  toward 
reconciliation  with  God.  Whatever  the  depth  of 
his  sorrow,  simply  on  account  of  his  exposure  to 
the  penalty  of  God's  violated  law,  if  that  be  all 
of  it,  and  continue  to  be  all,  that  penalty  will 
surely  yet  overtake  him  in  its  resistless  rush. 
Indeed,  it  not  only  of  itself  fails  to  bring  forth 

life,  and  ward  off  eternal  wrath,  but  it  sometimes 
17* 


198  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

literally  worketh  death.  It  is  equally  strange 
and  true  that  men  often  rush  most  hastily  upon 
the  very  edge  and  brunt  of  that  which  they  most 
dread.  The  fate  of  him  who  sold  the  life  of  his 
Lord  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver  horribly  illustrated 
the  death-working  power  of  this  deep  sorrow. 
When  he  saw  that  Jesus  was  condemned,  he 
repented  himself,  and  came  to  the  chief  priests 
and  elders,  saying,  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have 
betrayed  the  innocent  blood;  he  cast  down  the 
pieces  of  silver  in  the  temple,  and  departed,  and 
went  and  hanged  himself.  Not  a  few  have  been 
driven  by  the  same  power  to  the  same  desperation 
and  a  similar  doom. 

(2).  That  which  arises  from  disappointment  in 
regard  to  the  accomplishment  of  some  evil  pur- 
poses, or  from  envy  in  view, of  the  prosperity  of 
others,  or  from  the  indulgence  of  some  other  un- 
holy aifection.  This  works  death  in  so  far  as  it 
is  sinful  in  itself.  To  grieve  because  our  evil 
designs  have  been  baffled  by  God  or  man,  is  in 
itself  a  sin ;  to  repine  because  the  providence  of 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.         199 

God  has  passed  us  by  to  heap  distinguishing 
favors  in  the  lap  of  another,  is  itself  a  sin.  The 
indulgence  of  any  such  sorrow,  Vvdiich  springs 
from  depraved  affections  or  emotions,  is  sin,  and 
the  wages  of  all  sin  is  death.  But  this  is  not  all 
The  kind  of  sorrow  which  we  are  now  considering 
acts  by  a  reflex  power  upon  the  very  emotions  by 
which  it  was  engendered;  it  stirs  up  the  depths 
of  depravity  in  the  heart;  it  inflames  evil  pas- 
sions; it  gives  new  impulses  in  the  path  of  ini- 
quity. Grief  for  the  disappointment  of  wicked 
desires,  often  prompts  to  the  formation  and  exe- 
cution of  new  plans  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  same  desires.  If  a  man  grieve  because  his 
friend  is  more  prosperous  than  he,  that  grief  will 
hardly  fail  to  beget  jealousy,  and  may  easily 
nourish  that  jealousy  into  the  hideous  maturity 
of  hatred.  If  a  man  grieve  because  his  ungodly 
lusts  have  been  deprived  of  their  polluted  enjoy- 
ments, or  because  they  have  mistaken  misery  for 
pleasure,  his  grief  will  the  more  enrage  those  very 
lusts.     In  brief,  sinful  sorrow  is  like  a  festering 


200  KIBKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

wound  in  the  heart;  it  stimulates  and  exasperates 
those  very  evil  passions  from  which  it  springs, 
and  thus  indirectly,  but  with  dreadful  certainty, 
if  left  to  have  its  course,  it  worketh  death. 

(3).  The  last  of  the  three  kinds  included  in  the 
sorrow  of  the  world  is  that  which  may  be  called 
natural  in  distinction  from  moral.  It  is  that  pain 
or  uneasiness  of  the  heart  which  is  produced  by 
the  loss  of  any  lawful  good,  or  by  disappointment 
in  the  expectation  of  any  such  good.  In  itself 
considered,  this  has  no  moral  character.  It  is 
often  mingled  with  godly  sorrow;  it  is  sometimes 
made  the  means  of  awakening  godly  sorrow. 
The  heart  is  smitten;  the  man  is  brought  to  real- 
ize, in  a  new  degree,  the  instability  of  mere 
earthly  good.  He  is  induced  to  look  for  more 
worthy  and  enduring  objects  of  affection,  and  at 
the  same  time  is  made  to  feel  that  he  is  a  sufferer 
because  he  is  a  sinner.  He  is  led  to  look  more 
deeply  into  his  own  heart,  and  to  contrast  him- 
self and  his  life,  with  the  character,  the  law,  the 
providence,  and  the  forbearance  of  God,  and  thus, 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OP  SOBHOW.        201 

or  by  some  similar  process^  he  is  led  to  the  exer- 
cise of  genuine  repentance.  Many  a  man  has 
walked,  with  downcast  face  and  tearful  eyes, 
through  a  dark  and  thorny  path  of  sorrow,  not 
knowing  whither  he  went,  until  he  emerged  into 
the  path  of  the  just  which  "is  as  the  shining^ 
light  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect 
day."  Many  a  man  has  devoutly  thanked  God  for 
the  stroke  which  well  nigh  broke  his  heart,  and 
thus  constrained  him  to  seek  the  great  Physician 
who  not  only  binds  up  the  broken  heart,  but  heals 
for  ever  all  the  deep-seated  maladies  of  the  spirit. 
On  the  same  familiar  principle,  afflictions  are  often  , 
used  as  the  means  of  sanctifying  those  who  have 
believed.  Natural  sorrow  is  poured  into  their 
breasts  to  minister  to  their  purification.  It  is  a 
mysterious  but  a  gracious  arrangement.  And, 
hence,  being  the  subject  of  great  afflictions  does 
not  necessarily  prove  one  to  be  a  conspicuously 
great  sinner.  This  w^as  the  mistake  into  which 
the  friends  of  Job  fell;  their  reproachful  advice 
was  given  upon  this  false  assumption,  and  one 


202  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

great  design  of  that  book  was,  doubtless,  to  teacli 
that  we  should  not  judge  of  the  characters  of 
men  by  God's  dealings  with  them  in  the  present 
life.  Many  of  his  chosen,  devoted  servants  are 
made  to  drink  the  cup  of  sorrow  to  the  dregs, 
that  thereby,  through  a  process  peculiar  to  God's 
economy  of  grace,  they  may  be  prepared  for 
larger  and  purer  draughts  of  joy.  There  is  mercy 
in  the  form  of  judgment;  grief  is  sown,  but  the 
harvest  is  everlasting  joy. 

Still,  when  separated  from  the  fear  and  love  of 
God,  and  faith  in  Christ,  even  this  natural  sorrow 
of  the  heart  worketh  death.  Not  only  does  it 
drink  up  the  spirits,  and  banish  animating  hopes, 
and  derange  the  nervous  system,  and  prey  upon 
the  energies,  and  thus,  when  inordinately  indulged 
sometimes  hasten  temporal  death;  but,  unless  re- 
strained and  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  it 
has  a  tendency  to  work  out  everlasting  death.  It 
excites  a  spirit  of  rebellion  against  Jehovah.  It 
is  an  unqualified  declaration  of  Scripture  and 
abundantly  confirmed  by  human  experience  in  its 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.         208 

widest  range,  that  men  have  a  natural  disposition 
to  contend  against  God.  Who  does  not  know 
how  alarmingly  that  disposition  is  quickened  by 
sorrow  ?  How  hard  it  is  to  submit  to  iniglity  be- 
reavements with  an  uncomplaining  spirit?  How 
prone  we  are  to  resist  His  will  when  it  is  em- 
bodied in  the  heartless  forms  of  adversity?  How 
a  single  stroke  of  his  rod  arouses  a  sudden  rebel- 
lion in  the  bosom?  And  if  this  is  often  the 
actual  result  of  sorrow,  in  its  most  violent  opera- 
tions, every  smaller  degree  of  it,  has,  in  its  own 
measure,  the  same  dangerous  tendency.  It  is  a 
fearful  tendency;  at  the  very  best,  we  have  too 
strong  an  inclination  to  resist  God,  and  we  have 
reason  to  dread  the  force  of  such  a  stimulant* 
We  have  far  more  reason  to  deprecate  sorrow,  be- 
cause of  this  danger,  than  because  of  the  pain  it 
brings ;  w^e  have  far  more  reason  to  seek  the  grace 
of  God  to  counteract  this  tendencv,  than  to  seek 
his  consolations  for  the  mere  relief  they  bring. 

This  sorrow  sometimes  results  in  turnina:  tlie 
current  of  affection  with  fatal  certainty,  and  re- 


204  KinKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

doubled  intensity  toward  some  other  earthly 
object  which  comes  into  the  place  of  that  which 
lias  been  lost  and  mourned.  How  often  does  it 
occur,  that  when  parents  lose  one  child  in  their 
sadness,  they  cling  with  more  fondness  and  in- 
creasing devotion  to  another  that  is  left?  So  in  a 
multitude  of  similar  and  various  instances,  sorrow 
for  the  loss  of  one  object  forges  new  chains  and 
binds  us  more  firmly  to  others.  By  nature,  we 
are  prone  to  idolatry  as  the  sparks  fly  upward, 
and  when  our  idols  are  torn  away,  our  very  sor- 
row often  makes  us  more  idolatrous.  In  this  par- 
ticulai-,  its  tendency  is  to  evil  and  to  death. 

Sometimes  it  begets  a  morbid  disgust  for  the 
world,  and  leads  to  a  misanthropic  seclusion  from 
its  kindly  and  salutary  influences.  True,  the 
world  is  full  of  temptations,  and  it  might  be 
thought,  at  first  view,  that  seclusion  was  the  best 
place  for  the  cultivation  of  piety  and  spiritual 
life.  Thus  many  have  thought  in  every  age^  but 
the  history  of  all  such  experiments  has  proved 
tlie  notion  a  fallacy.     Man  is  a  social  being,  and 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.         205 

even  his  spiritual  nature  has  social  relations  whicli 
cannot  be  torn  asunder  with  impunity.  Occa- 
sional retirement  is  indispensable  to  growth  in 
grace,  but  a  soul  in  habitual  seclusion  is  like  a 
plant  in  a  dark  cellar.  Although  the  world  is 
full  of  temptations,  there  are  many  genial,  and 
healthful,  and  converting,  and  purifying  influences 
circulating  through  the  varied  channels  of  social 
and  religious  life,  and  when  sorrow  drives  men 
into  a  misanthropic  seclusion,  it  is  exerting  no 
trifling  tendency  to  death. 

Even  in  less  conspicuous  instances,  in  ordinary 
instances,  it  often  tends  to  death.  If  it  does  not 
soften,  it  hardens  the  heart.  Men  are  exhorted 
to  rejoice  with  trembling,  but  sorrow  is  little  less 
dangerous.  These  which  have  been  mentioned 
are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  it  worketh  death. 
O,  how  much  need  we  have,  in  all  our  afflictions, 
to  guard  against  the  excessive  indulgence  of  sor- 
row, and  to  seek  the  restraining  and  sanctifying 
grace  of  God  to  counteract  its  evil  tendencies,  and 
prevent  its  fatal  working. 

18 


206  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

TI.  Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  that 
which  the  apostle  calls  ^' godly  sorrow/'  In  gen- 
eral, it  is  that  of  which  God,  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
the  author.  Like  faith,  it  is  his  gift.  It  is  that 
wliicli  is  excited  through  certain  views  of  God. 
He  who  does  not  behold  God  as  a  holy  Being;  he 
who  has  no  correct  views  of  his  justice;  lie  who 
despises  the  goodness  of  Him  against  whom  his 
sins  have  been  committed,  can  have  no  godly 
sorrow.  It  is  that  which  in  all  its  exercises  con- 
templates God  as  the  ultimate  object.  Such  sor- 
row David  had  when  he  exclaimed  "  Against  thee, 
thee  only  have  I  sinned.'^  The  great  sin  of  his 
life  was  enormous,  even  as  a  sin  against  his  fellow- 
man;  but  its  injustice  and  cruelty  to  him  were 
completely  absorbed  in  that  heinousness  which 
characterized  it  as  a  sin  against  God.  If  we  do 
not  perceive  and  feel  that  all  our  sins  of  every 
grade  are  committed  against  God,  and  that  in  that 
opposition  consists  the  essence  of  their  sinfulness 
we  do  not  exercise  a  godly  sorrow  for  them.  The 
chief  elements  of  godly  sorrow  are  these: 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.         207 

1.  A  sense  of  guilt.  Guilt  is  n  -.onymous 
with  sin.  It  means  a  just  exposure  to  the  penalty 
of  the  violated  law;  desert  of  punishment.  The 
sinner  must  not  only  feel  that  he  is  liable  to  pun- 
ishment, that  he  is  in  danger  of  it,  but  that  he 
deserves  it,  and  that  God  would  be  just  in  his 
damnation.  There  may  be  "a  fearful  looking  for 
of  judgment,  and  fiery  indignation  which  shall 
devour  the  adversaries,"  and  yet  no  true  convic- 
tion of  the  personal  desert  of  that  judgment  and 
indignation.  But  terror,  apart  from  shame  and 
self-condemnation,  is  no  element  of  godly  sorrow. 

2.  It  includes,  also,  a  conviction  of  the  in- 
trinsic evil  of  sin,  and  its  odiousness  before  God. 
Accordingly  we  find  that  the  most  moral  and  up- 
right men  in  human  estimation,  when  their  eyes 
are  opened  to  an  humbling  view  of  their  own 
hearts,  condemn  themselves,  not  only  as  sinners, 
but  as  great  sinners.  They  see  that  sin,  all  sin, 
any  sin,  is  vile,  miserably  vile;  and  though  the 
crimes  of  many  others  may  be  of  deeper  and 
blacker  turpitude;  although  their  sins  are  com- 


208  KIRKPATRWK  MEMOUIAL. 

paratively  small,  yet,  absolutely,  they  are  "ex- 
ceedingly sinful/'  because  they  have  been  com- 
mitted against  the  law,  the  will,  the  very  nature 
of  Him  who  is  holiness  itself.  If  any  man  have 
not  such  a  sense  and  abhorrence  of  the  evil  nature 
of  sin,  apart  from  the  number  and  magnitude  of 
his  transgressions,  he  has  not  genuine  godly 
sorrow. 

3.  It  includes,  also,  a  sense  of  base  ingratitude. 
Who  can  have  a  just  view  of  sin  as  committed 
against  that  God  who  is  love,  whose  goodness  and 
mercy  have  followed  him  all  the  days  of  his  life, 
and  indeed  feel  that  his  very  life  is  but  the  pro- 
tracted forbearance  of  God  who  is  "not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  be 
saved  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth?" 
Who  can  have  a  just  view  of  his  iniquities  in  their 
contrast  with  infinite  benevolence,  and  mercy,  and 
love,  without  an  overwhelming  conviction  that  he 
has  been  grievously  ungrateful?  Such  are  the 
elements  of  godly  sorrow. 

III.  It  is  a  fatal  mistake  to  confound  sorrow 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.        209 

and  repentance ;  they  are  widely  different.  One 
is  the  cause,  the  other  the  effect.  One  is  the  tree, 
the  other  is  the  fruit.  We  can  readily  conceive 
of  a  man  being  sorry  for  sin  all  his  life,  and  yet 
dying  without  repentance.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  many  a  self-deceived  soul  has  gone  to  ever- 
lasting perdition  because  he  was  content  with 
sorrow  under  the  name  of  repentance.  Even 
godly  sorrow  is  not  enough  to  insure  pardon,  un- 
less it  progresses  to  its  legitimate  issue.  It  work- 
eth  repentance.  Here  is  the  grand  test  for  godly 
sorrow.  If  it  be  genuine,  it  will  always  produce 
this  result.  If  it  come  short  of  this,  it  is  worth- 
less, yea  worse,  it  is  the  death-working  sorrow  of 
the  world  under  a  borrowed  title. 

What  then  is  this  repentance  in  which  godly 
sorrow  eventuates  ?  The  word  literally  means  a 
change  of  mind,  a  change  of  the  prevailing  pur- 
pose, and  inclination  of  the  mind.  And  when  a 
man  changes  his  mind,  he  changes  his  plan  and 
conduct.  Thus  genuine  repentance  is  never  sepa- 
rate from  outward  reformation.     The  man  who 

18  * 


210  KinKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

professes  to  be  sorry  for  his  sins,  and  yet  does  not 
sincerely  and  habitually  endeavor  to  forsake  them, 
is  false  to  his  God,  and  false  to  himself, — for 
godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance.  It  worketh  a 
change  of  mind,  a  change  of  the  moral  disposition 
and  inclinations  and  desires,  and  moral  habits  of 
the  soul,  and  a  corresponding  change  in  the  tenor 
of  the  outward  life.  Of  this  process  the  final  end 
is  salvation.  Sorrow  is  bitter,  repentance  is  diffi- 
cult ;  but  salvation  is — what  shall  I  say  ?  It  is 
an  everlasting  mystery  of  blissful  glory.  It  is 
beyond  description,  and  therefore  the  Apostle 
adds  these  words,  "  not  to  be  repented  of."  This 
phrase  may  have  reference,  either  to  the  repent- 
ance or  the  salvation. 

The  word  here  translated  "  not  to  be  repented 
of  ^'  is  very  different  from  the  former  word  repent- 
ance. It  occurs  in  only  one  other  place  in  the 
New  Testament  where  it  is  said  that  "  the  gifts 
and  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance." 
There  it  is  generally  understood  to  mean  "  secure, 
certain,   unchangeable."     Accordingly   it   might 


THE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.         211 

here  mean  that  salvation  thus  effected  is  un- 
changeable ;  once  obtained,  it  is  secure  for  ever ; 
for  we  may  be  well  persuaded  "  that  neither  death 
nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord/'  More  probably,  how- 
ever, it  refers  to  repentance,  and  means  not  to  be 
regretted. 

In  this  the  Apostle  has  declared  the  invariable 
experience  of  all  true  penitents.  There  may  have 
been  victims  of  delusion,  who,  in  the  black  mid- 
night of  apostacy,  have  regretted  that  they  ever 
united  with  the  visible  church  of  God  without  a 
spark  of  true  religion.  Many  doubtless  have 
regretted  that  they  mistook  the  dangerous  sorrow 
of  the  world  for  godly  sorrow.  But  let  the  ene- 
mies of  religion,  and  all  ingenious  antiquarian 
skeptics  roll  out  and  sift  all  the  confessions,  and 
pry  into  all  the  secrets  of  the  universal  scroll  of 
history.     They  will  search  in  vain  for  any  man 


212  KIBKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

\\'\\o  has  for  a  moment  repented  of  genuine  re- 
pentance. 

When  will  a  man  repent  of  that  ?  When  he 
is  struggling  to  be  free  from  sin  because  it  is  his 
worst  enemy  ?  As  soon  would  a  man  repent  of 
his  fear  while  he  was  fleeing  from  the  jaws  of  a 
roaring  lion.  Will  he  repent  of  it  while  he  lives, 
rejoicing  in  the  favor  of  that  God  whose  frown 
rests  upon  the  unbeliever;  rejoicing  in  commu- 
nion with  Him  whose  loving-kindness  is  better 
than  life;  rejoicing  in  that  peace  of  conscience 
which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away ; 
"rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God?"  Will 
he  repent  of  it  in  the  hour  of  death,  when  a  new 
smile  of  heavenly  love  falls  gently  on  him,  and 
he  exclaims  to  the  praise  of  divine  grace,  "  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight ;  I  have  finished  my  course ; 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness  ?'' 

Will  he  repent  of  it  when  his  transported  spirit 
enters  the  gate  of  the  celestial  city,  while  a  wel- 
coming flood  of  light  and  music  lifts  him  gently 


THJE  TWO  FORMS  OF  SORROW.         213 

into  the  very  presence  of  his  heavenly  Father  ? 
Will  he  repent  of  it  when  he  sees  his  name  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  Life  ?  Will  he  repent  of  it  when 
the  crown  is  placed  upon  his  brow  and  the  harp 
in  his  hand  ?  Will  he  repent  of  it  when  his 
voice  swells  up  spontaneously,  and  to  his  own 
rapturous  amazement,  harmoniously  into  the  great 
choral  song  of  redemption  ?  Will  he  ever,  ever 
in  the  lapse  of  ages,  sit  down  wearied  with  the 
joys  of  heaven,  tired  of  the  beatific  vision,  and 
regret  that  he  repented  of  his  sins  ? 
Converse.* 

*  This  word  ia  retained  in  its  so]jjgiriness,  as  a  specimen  of  the 
suggestive  terms  frequently  employed  by  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  in  his 
sermons,  and  especially  at  their  close.  With  an  unfettered  spirit 
he  addressed  his  exhortations  to  his  hearers.  Much  of  his  power 
was  manifested  in  these  extemporaneous  appeals. — Editor. 


VI. 

no  YE  NOW  BELIEVJE? 

Do  ye  now  believe?    John  xvi.  31. 

THE    Saviour   knew   the   hearts   of  all.     He 
needed   not  that  any  one  should  testify  of 
man,   for  he   himself  knew   what  was  in   man. 
Yet  he  often  asked  questions.     He  did  so  for  the 
benefit  of  others.     He  suggested  questions  which 
his  disciples  might  r^eat  to  one  another  and  to 
themselves,  with  the  design  of  bringing  their  own 
experience  under  review,  and  in  order  to  show 
them  the  state  of  their  own  hearts  through  the 
candid  answers  of  their  own  consciences.     Under 
this  category  comes  the  question  now  before  us. 
It  was  addressed  to    the   disciples   immediately 
after  a  decided  profession,  upon  their  part,  of  in- 
telligent confidence  in  him.     As  the  case  often  is, 
this  question  expresses  different  shades  of  mean- 


2U 


BO   YE  NOW  BELIEVEf  215 

ing  according  to  the  emphasis  with  which  it  is 
pronounced.  By  looking  at  its  different  phases, 
we  may,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  obtain  varied 
instruction  and  profit.  The  original  emphasis,  or 
precise  statement  of  the  question  as  uttered  by  the 
Saviour,  can  hardly  be  determined  with  certainty; 
but  we  shall  not  fail,  surely,  to  include  it,  if  we 
duly  consider  the  natural  and  profitable  varia- 
tions of  the  inquiry  which  accord  with  the  context 
on  the  one  hand,  and  with  certain  common  va- 
rieties of  human  experience  on  the  other. 

I.  We  may  understand  this  question  as  having 
reference  to  the  reality  of  faith,  to  saving  faith  as 
distinguished  from  other  grades  of  belief.  Do  ye 
now  believe,  indeed,  in  the  highest  sense ;  in  the 
gospel  sense?  Shortly  before  these  words  were 
uttered,  in  his  interview  with  the  disciples,  Christ 
had  made  this  declaration,  "  A  little  while,  and 
ye  shall  not  see  me ;  and  again  a  little  while,  and 
ye  shall  see  me;  because  I  go  to  the  Father." 
"Then  said  some  of  his  disciples  among  them- 
selves, what  is  tliis  that  lie  saith  unto  us,  a  little 


216  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

while.     We  cannot  tell  what  he  saith."     Jesus 
followed  with  an  explanation  of  his  saying,  and 
the  explanation  ended  thus,  "  I  came  forth  from 
the  Father  and  am  come  into  the  world ;  again, 
I  leave  the  world  and  go  to  the  Father."     This 
explanation  was  unasked.    Jesus  perceived  their 
need  of  it,  and  their  desire  for  it,  and  to  their 
astonishment  had  precisely  met  that  desire.    They 
replied,    "Lo   now  speakest   thou   plainly,  and 
speakest  no  proverb.     Now  we  are  sure  that  thou 
knowest  all  things,  and  needest  not  that  any  man 
should  ask  thee;  by  this  we  believe  that  thou 
camest  forth  from  God.''     Jesus  answered  in  sub- 
stance thus;  Ye  believe  that  I  have  an   insight 
into  the  heart;  ye  believe  that  I  came  forth  from 
God ;  but  do  you  exercise  an  implicit  trust  in  me 
as  your  only  and  all-sufficient  Saviour?      The 
question  in  this  form  comes  home  to  us.     Belief 
in  the  Scriptures,  as  the  word  of  God,  is  indeed 
indispensable  to  salvation.     It  is  the  first  step, 
without  which,  most  assuredly,  the  goal  cannot 
be  reached.     No  man  who  rejects  the  Bible  can 


DO   YE  NOW  BELIEVE!  217 

go  to  heaven,  whether  he  be  a  heathen  groping  in 
darkness,  or  .an  infidel  blind  in  the  midst  of  light. 
Therein,  the  way  of  life  is  made  known.  Witli- 
out  it  that  way  is  unknown,  and  how  can  a  man 
travel  to  the  region  of  immortal  bliss  unless  he 
knows  ^the  way?  It  is  in  vain  that  men  talk 
about  the  religion  of  nature,  or  the  light  of  reason, 
or  special  revelations,  or  the  ^'eternal  verities'' 
that  are  latent  in  the  consciousness,  or  the  claims 
of  human  virtue,  or  the  untrammelled  goodness 
of  God,  which  must  by  a  logical  necessity,  confer 
happiness  upon  all  men.  All  religion  is  as  un- 
stable and  useless,  for  everlasting  purposes,  as 
cliaflP,  except  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  You, 
doubtless,  believe  in  the  Bible,  but  that  is  not 
enough.  Though  your  convictions  in  this  respect 
be  unwavering ;  though  you  may  be  able  to  de- 
fend them  with  impregnable  arguments ;  though 
you  may  be  accustomed  to  maintain  them  with 
reasons  as  familiar  to  you  as  household  words, 
and  as  strong  as  the  testimony  of  the  senses ;  still 
the  question  recurs,  ^^  Do  you  believe  ?"     Import- 

19 


218  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

ant,  essential  as  it  is,  yet  comparatively,  a  mere 
faith  in  the  evidences  of  Christianity  may  be 
regarded  as  no  faith  at  all,  and  as  though  that 
were  entirely  beneath  the  view,  it  may  still  be 
asked,  do  you  now  believe  ?  Not,  do  you  believe 
the  Scriptures?  but  do  you  believe  in  the  Sa- 
viour ? 

It  is  worth  our  while  to  dwell  upon  this  point, 
plain  as  it  is,  because  such  a  dangerous  practical 
mistake  is  so  commonly  made  just  here.  So 
many  who  would  shrink  with  horror  from  the 
dismal  abyss  of  infidelity,  are  yet  satisfied  with  a 
mere  nominal  Christianity ;  so  many  yielding  the 
assent  of  their  understandings  merely,  are  resting 
in  a  false  and  perilous  security.  You  might  not 
only  believe  the  Scriptures,  but  commit  them  all 
to  memory,  and  choose  to  die  with  the  well-worn 
volume  beneath  your  head,  and  yet,  if  you  went 
no  farther,  if  you  did  not  repent,  and  discard  your 
own  righteousness,  and  receive  the  Saviour,  your 
everlasting  experience  would  be  but  the  fulfilment 


DO   YE  NOW  BELIEVE?  219 

of  that  awful  denunciation,  "  He  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned," 

And  there  is  another  thought  in  connection  with 
this,  which  we  cannot  overlook.  Your  acquaint- 
ance with  the  word  of  God,  if  not  folloAved  by  a 
saving  faith,  will  enhance  your  condemnation. 
''That  servant  which  knew  his  Lord's  will,  and 
prepared  not  himself,  neither  did  according  to  his 
will,  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes;  while  he 
that  knew  not  and  did  commit  things  worthy  of 
stripes,  shall  be  beaten  with  few."  Do  you  doubt 
it?  do  you  hesitate  about  the  application  of  it? 
"Go  ye  and  learn  what  this  meaneth,"  ''Unto 
whomsoever  much  is  given,  of  him  will  much  be 
required." 

The  disciples  had  just  declared  their  faith  in 
the  divinity  of  Christ.  "  Now  we  are  sure  that 
thou  knowest  all  things,  and  needest  not  that  any 
man  should  ask  thee."  Omniscience  is  an  attri- 
bute of  Deity  alone.  It  cannot  belong  to  any 
creature.  To  believe,  as  the  disciples  did,  that 
Jesus  kuoweth  all  things  is  to  believe  that  he  is 


22a  KIRKPATRIGK  MEMORIAL. 

Divine.      This   is   essential   to   salvation.      The 
Scriptures  make  it  an  express  condition ;  ''  Who 
is  he  that  overcometh   the  world,  but    he   that 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?"     But 
this  is  not  enough.     The  remarks  just  made  upon 
the   forcgohig   topic  Avould   be   applicable   here. 
Here  is  the  same  danger  of  false  security,  and 
even  a  greater  danger.     You   may  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God;  you  may  admire  his 
exhibitions  of  the  Godhead ;  you  may  admire  the 
glorious  perfection  of  his  character;  that  admira- 
tion may  even  be  such  as  to  prompt  you  to  imi- 
tate, in  some  respects,  his  beautiful  example,  and 
yet,  in  reality,  you  may  reject  him  and  perish. 
O,  be  not  satisfied  with  correct  intellectual  appre- 
hensions of  the  Saviour!     Cast  away  your  own 
righteousness;  abandon  every  scheme  of  salvation 
by  works ;  receive  the  Saviour ;  embrace  him  with 
love;   with  a  sense  of  your  lost  condition   cast 
yourself  into  his  arms  for  safety;  banish  every 
other  hope  of  salvation  that  Avould  cheat  your 
soul  of  heaven;    with  humility,  and    penitence, 


DO    YE  NOW  BELIEVE!  221 

and  simple  implicit  trusty  rely  upon  Him;  give 
him  your  heart  and  all  your  powers;  give  your- 
self unreservedly  to  him  to  be  saved  by  his  grace, 
and  to  be  used  for  his  glory.  In  this  sense,  "do 
ye  now  believe?"-       * 

II.  We  may  understand  this  question  as  in- 
tended to  remind  us  of  the  possibility  of  being 
self-deceived,  and  to  incite  us  to  a  renewed  inves- 
tigation of  the  matter.  ^^ Do  ye  now  believe?" 
Are  you  assured  of  that?  Let  us  not  repel  the 
inquiry  as  an  uncharitable  insinuation ;  but  aware 
of  our  liability  to  err  even  in  so  vital  a  matter, 
let  us  humbly  and  sternly  ask  ourselves  the  ques- 
tion. Do  I  indeed  believe?  In  order  to  answer 
this  correctly,  let  us  look  for  the  Scriptural  evi- 
dences of  genuine  faith. 

It  is  the  gift  of  God;  it  is  wrought  in  us  by 
his  Holy  Spirit;  and  there  are  certain  exercises 
antecedent  and  preparatory  to  the  introduction 
and  exercise  of  faith.  (1),  Illumination.  This 
is  the  first  requisite,  in  time,  if  not  in  importance. 
When  Christ  sent  Paul  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles, 

19* 


222  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

his  conip.iissioii  was  in  these  words:  "To  open 
their  eyes,  and  to  turn  tliem  from  darkness  to 
light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God, 
that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  in- 
heritance among  them  which  are  sanctified  by 
faith  that  is  in  me."  How  can  a  man  receive 
Christ  while  he  is  blind,  or  in  darkness?  If  we 
have  not  been  enlightened  Ave  have  not  believed. 
It  is  comparatively  easy  to  determine  whether  we 
have  been  enlightened;  if  so,  our  views  of  sin, 
and  holiness,  of  truth  and  error,  of  justice  and 
the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  have  been  vastly 
changed.  If  we  regard  these  things  as  we  for- 
merly did,  we  have  not  been  enlightened;  if  our 
views  are  not  materially  changed,  we  have  sad 
reason  to  fear  that  our  illumination  has  been  only 
a  hallucination;  for,  as  one*  has  well  said,  "If 
God  has  opened  our  eyes  by  saving  illumination, 
we  will  find  as  great  a  difference  betwixt  our 
former  and  present  apprehensions  of  sin  and 
danger  as  betwixt  a  painted  lion  upon  the  wall  or 

*  Flavel. 


DO    YE  NOW  BELIEVE f  223 

a  sign-post^  and  the  real  living  lion  that  meets  us 
roaring  in  the  way." 

(2).  Conviction,  also,  must  precede  faith.  Tlie 
Sj)irit  first  convinces  of  sin,  then  of  righteous- 
ness. "Repent  and  believe,"  is  the  invariable 
form  of  the  command.  Men  must  have  some 
"sick  days  and  restless  nights  for  sin  before  they 
rightly  close  with  Christ  by  faith."  True,  con- 
victions are  more  pungent  and  distressing  in  some 
cases  than  others;  some  are  left  to  writhe  in  agony 
for  days,  or  weeks,  but  this  is  not  the  experi- 
ence of  every  true  convert.  This  is  not  necessary, 
not  indispensable.  And  yet  if  we  have  not  been 
thoroughly  convicted  of  sin;  if  we  have  not  seen 
our  exposure  to  divine  vengeance  with  alarm ;  if 
we  have  not  looked  upon  sin  with  abhorrence;  if 
we  have  not  looked  upon  our  own  sins  with  deep 
contrition;  if  we  have  not  come  to  a  practical 
willingness  and  determination  to  forsake  sin,  then, 
we  have  not  believed. 

(3).  Self-distrust,  self-despair  must  also  precede 
faith.     "Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?^' 


224  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

exclaimed  the  stricken  multitude  upon  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  It  was  the  language  of  men  who  felt 
that  they  were  lost;  who  felt,  in  the  depth  of 
their  souls,  that  they  could  not  save  themselves, 
and  that  there  was  no  way  of  escape  by  any 
chance,  or  any  possibility,  through  the  sympathies, 
and  interposition  of  any  creature  on  earth  or  in 
heaven.  It  is  the  language  which  must  break 
forth  from  the  fulness  of  every  heart  before  it 
will  rest  upon  Christ.  No  man  will  truly  rely 
upon  the  Saviour  until  he  is  deeply  and  practi- 
cally convinced  of  his  own  desperate  condition. 
If  we  have  not  felt  as  really  that  we  were  lost, 
and  as  utterly  distrustful  of  our  own  powers  as 
though  we  were  falling  from  an  overhanging 
precipice,  of  almost  measureless  height,  into  the 
raging  sea,  then  it  is  to  be  feared,  we  have  not 
believed. 

(4).  The  consequence  of  this  sense  of  ruin,  and 
absolute  helplessness  must  be  earnest,  agonizing 
prayer  to  God  for  faith.  Not  an  indifferent  peti- 
tion, with  a  lie  in  its  bosom ;  not  a  mere  spasmo- 


BO   YE  NOW  BELIEVE f  2'25 

die  shriek  of  anguish  shaped  into  a  prayer;  but 
vehement^  importunate,  persevering  supplication. 
One  who  is  passing  through  a  genuine  experience 
of  conversion  will  prostrate  himself  before  the 
throne  of  grace,  with  the  burden  of  some  such 
prayer  as  this:  "Lord,  help  my  unbelief/'  ''God 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  I  am  undone;  O, 
give  me  Christ  or  I  perish  for  ever;  deny  me  not; 
give  me  Christ  if  thou  take  away  every  earthly 
friend.  Lead  me  to  the  cross,  even  though  I 
should  be  compelled  to  bear  the  cross  until  I  sink 
into  death.  Give  me  faith,  even  if  thou  take 
away,  in  return,  everything  I  have;  give  me  faith, 
even  if  thou  take  away  my  life.  "  How  can  I  let 
thee  go  without  thy  blessing !"  If  w^e  have  not 
been  led  to  call  upon  God  for  faith,  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  which  our  souls  were  capable,  then, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  we  have  not  believed. 

Let  us  look  further  at  some  of  the  effects  of 
genuine  faith.  (1).  One  is  sincere  gratitude ;  "  a 
melting  of  the  heart  under  the  apprehensions  of 
grace  and  mercy .'^     Who  can  believe  that  Christ 


226  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

is  able  and  willing  to  save  him ;  who  can  con- 
template the  awful  humiliation  of  the  Son  of 
God ;  who  can  trace  his  life  of  toil,  and  privation 
and  suffering ;  who  can  behold  him  in  the  gar- 
den, in  the  midst  of  the  maddened  mob,  on  the 
cross,  and  believe  that  he  suffered  all  that  for 
him ;  w^ho  can  believe  that  Jesus  is  actually  bear- 
ing him  in  his  arms  above  the  scene  of  ruin, 
above  the  carnage  of  death,  above  the  mighty 
sweep  of  wrath,  upholding  him  in  safety  while 
the  ministers  of  vengeance  strive  together  in  their 
ravages  below,  and  carrying  him  up,  up  into  the 
invigorating  uncontaminated  air;  up,  up  into  the 
purifying  light  of  eternal  rest,  and  sanctity  and 
life ;  who  can  believe  all  this  without  unspeakable 
gratitude?  Such  a  thankfulness  as  cannot  be 
awakened  by  any  proofs  of  human  friendship; 
such  as  cannot  be  awakened  by  the  bestowment 
of  any  temporal  good. 

(2).  ^^ Faith  without  works  is  dead/'  "What 
doth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man  say  he 
hath  faith,  and  have  not  works ;  can   faith  save 


DO   YE  NOW  BELIEVE f  227 

him  ?^'  Can  such  a  faith  save  him  ?  ^^  If  a  brother 
or  sister  be  naked,  and  destitute  of  daily  food, 
and  one  of  you  say  unto  them  depart  in  peace,  be 
ye  warmed  and  filled,  notwithstanding  ye  give 
them  not  those  things  which  are  needful  to  the 
body,  what  doth  it  ]3rofit?"  What  is  such  love 
worth?  What  would  the  suiferer  deem  it,  but  a 
mockery  of  his  misery?  Even  so,  faith,  if  it 
does  not  prove  its  genuineness  by  works  is  dead, 
worthless,  deceptive,  dangerous.  Faith  without 
obedience  is  a  dream.  We  might  as  well  talk  of 
a  living  tree  in  summer,  without  fruit  or  foliage ; 
we  might  as  well  talk  of  a  sun  without  light  or 
heat.  Paul  speaks  of  '4he  obedience  of  faith," 
almost  as  though  the  two  were  identical.  If  we 
do  not  make  it  the  great  business  of  our  lives  to 
do  the  will  of  Christ,  then,  assuredly,  we  have 
not  believed. 

(3).  "  Faith  works  by  love."  It  will  show  its 
energy  in  the  heart  by  love  to  Christ,  love  to  his 
cause,  love  to  his  followers.  It  works  through 
love ;  it  prompts  not  only  to  obedience  but  to  a 


228  KIRKPATIIICK  MEMORIAL. 

willing,  cheerful  discharge  of  duty.  It  manifests 
itself  in  the  form  of  love  which  yields  its  appro- 
priate fruits.  Would  you  be  satisfied  with  the 
affection  of  a  professed  friend  who  did  nothing 
for  your  welfare,  manifested  no  sympathy  with 
your  feelings,  no  concern  for  your  interests  ?  Our 
love  to  God  is  an  empty  name,  if  it  does  not  flow 
out  into  a  life  of  cordial  devotion  to  his  service, 
and  thus  assert  the  genuineness  of  our  faith. 

(4).  "  Faith  purifies  the  heart."  Other  motives, 
selfish,  or  legal,  or  moral,  may  cleanse  the  hands, 
and  may  regulate  the  conduct,  but  they  cannot 
purify  the  heart.  Morality  may  partially  conceal 
inward  corruption,  but  it  cannot  remove  it. 
While  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  efficient  cause,  faith 
is  the  instrument  of  purification.  Where  unholy 
passions  rage  and  reign ;  where  the  natural  cor- 
ruption remains  undiminished;  where  the  sin- 
sores  are  still  festering  with  unabated  virulence ; 
where  the  heart  is  not  purer  than  it  was,  there  is 
no  true  faith. 

(5).  "  Faith  overcomes  the  world. '^     The  world. 


DO    YE  NOW  BELIEVEf  229 

ill  this  sense,  is  an  enemy  to  be  conquered.  We 
must  overcome  the  inordinate  influences  of  its 
honors,  and  treasures,  and  pleasures,  and  decora- 
tions, and  friendship.  We  must  overcome  our 
fear  of  the  frowns,  and  rage,  and  contempt  of 
worldly  men.  It  is  faith  that  does  this.  If  the 
Avorld  has  hitherto  overcome  us,  we  have  not  yet 
believed.  If  we  have  not  overcome  the  world, 
we  have  not  rightly  believed. 

Such  are  the  evidences  of  saving  faith.  In 
view  of  them  the  solemn  question  recurs  to  us, 
'^  Do  ye  now  believe  ?^'  Let  us  not  shrink  from 
it;  let  us  not  repel  it;  let  us  repeat  it  to  our- 
selves, and  search  our  experience  for  the  answer. 

III.  This  question  may  be  understood  as  re- 
buking a  former  want  or  weakness  of  faith. 
Before  this  particular  interview  with  his  disciples, 
Christ  had  sufficiently  manifested  his  character 
as  a  ground  of  confidence.  They  had  believed, 
but  their  faith  had  been  weak.  Upon  this  new 
and  striking  display  of  his  omniscience,  they  ex- 
claimed "  Now  we  are  sure."     Is  not  our  faith 

20 


230  KIIIKPATIUCK  MEMORIAL. 

produced,  or  awakened,  and  renewed  sometimes 
by  special  and  remarkable  exhibitions  of  his 
power  and  mercy  ?  Such  a  marlied  increase  of 
faith  presupposes  former  doubt;  at  such  a  time 
the  Saviour  saith  unto  us,  ^^  Do  ye  note  believe  ?" 
Ye  had  before  abundant  reason  to  believe;  ye 
have  always  reason  ;  why  should  your  faith  pass 
through  such  frequent  vacillations  ?  Why  should 
it  waver  and  recover,  fail  and  revive,  wane  and 
wax,  so  much?  Why  do  ye  not  always  believe 
more  firmly,  without  extraordinary  causes?  Do 
we  not  deserve  this  rebuke  for  our  habitual  or 
frequent  deficiency  in  this  particular  ? 

lY.  This  question  may  be  understood  as  an 
admonition  not  to  boast  of  our  faith  presumptu- 
ously, but  to  beware  lest  it  should  fail  in  the  hour 
of  trial.  This  was  most  probably  the  original 
design  of  the  inquiry.  Jesus  answered  them  "  Do 
ye  now  believe?  Behold  the  hour  cometh,  yea,  is 
now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered,  every  man 
to  Ills  own,  and  shall  leave  me  alone!"  And  so 
it  came  to  pass;  when  he  was  arrested  "they  all 


DO   YE  NOW  BELIEVE f  231 

forsook  him  and  fled."  Let  us  profit  by  that; 
"Do  ye  now  believe?"  Be  not  too  well  satisfied 
with  your  present  faith;  when  it  shall  be  weighed 
in  the  balance,  it  may  be  found  wanting;  at  the 
time  of  severe  testing,  it  may  fail.  Lest  it  should 
fiiil,  let  us  seek  to  have  it  strengthened.  Let  us 
not  be  content  with  what  we  have;  let  us  cry  out 
frequently  and  earnestly  in  prayer,  "Lord,  increase 
our  faith."  Enable  us  to  stand  in  the  evil  day, 
lest  we  be  scattered,  and  leave  thee  alone !  Our 
trials  are  many ;  we  need  much  faith.  It  is  the 
gift  of  God;  conscious  of  our  dependence  upon 
him  for  it,  let  us  not  cease  to  seek  importunately 
for  more  and  more  faith. 

Unconverted  friends,  "It  is  a  faithful  saying, 
and  worthy  of  all  acceptation  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  "God  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  He  has  given 
himself  a  sacrifice;  the  sacrifice  has  been  accepted ; 
the  foundation  of  Gospel  hopes  is  as  firm  as  eter- 


232  KIRKPATPJCK  MEMOIUAL. 

nal  truth.  ^^Do  ye  now  believe?"  Witness  the 
love  of  Jesus;  behold  his  condescension  in  the 
manger,  his  life  of  labor  and  heavenly  kindness; 
see  him  in  his  agony;  counting  blood-like  drops 
upon  his  brow;  see  him  on  the  cross;  hear  him 
groan;  see  the  light  of  life  fading  away  from  his 
eye  of  innocence;  ^^Do  ye  now  believe?" 

AVitness  the  power  of  Jesus;  see  him  opening 
blind  eyes  to  the  streaming  light ;  hear  him  speak^ 
ing  to  sad  souls  which  deafness  had  long  kept 
shut  up  in  their  silent  cells  away  from  every  ac- 
cent of  sympathy  and  every  cadence  of  melody; 
hear  him  calling  Lazarus  from  the  tomb,  and 
driving  foul  spirits  into  darkness  with  a  word, 
and  rebuking  to  silence  the  mad  sea;  behold  him 
folding  up  and  laying  aside  the  cerements  of  death 
and  coming  forth  from  the  sepulchre  as  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life;  ^^Do  ye  now  believe?" 

"He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlastins: 
life;  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see 
life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."  "Do 
ye  now  believe?"  not  now?  not  yet?     When  theit 


DO    YE  NOW  BELIEVE f  233 

will  ye  believe?  What  additional  reason,  proof, 
and  motive  do  you  demand?  There  is  reason 
enough,  proof  enough,  motive  enough;  they  are 
high  as  heaven,  deep  as  hell,  vast  as  eternity. 
Why  will  ye  not  believe  ?  Why  not  now  ?  "  Now 
is  the  accepted  time,  this  is  the  day  of  salvation.'^ 

20* 


VII. 

THE  SEVJEJRE  DENIAL  OF  SELF. 

If  thy  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off.  ....  If  thy  foot  offend 
thee,  cut  it  off.  ....  And  if  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out. 
Mark  ix.  43,  45,  47. 

^TTHEN  the  Christian  courage  of  Cranmer  was 
*  '  brought  fairly  to  the  test  of  persecution  it 
gave  way,  and  in  his  timidity  he  signed  an  instru- 
ment retracting  the  protestant  sentiments  he  had 
avowed.  Soon  after,  by  the  grace  of  God  he  re- 
pented of  his  recantation,  and  determined  again, 
with  more  than  his  former  firmness,  to  advocate 
the  cause  of  Christ,  if  need  be,  at  the  sacrifice  of 
life.  When  he  was  brought  to  the  stake,  deeply 
grieved  on  account  of  his  late  defection,  he  de- 
liberately thrust  his  right  hand  into  the  flames, 
saying,  "that  hand  which  did  the  wicked  deed, 
shall  suffer  first;  that  unworthy  hand!''     That 

234 


THE  SEVERE  DENIAL    OF  SELF.        235 

was  a  strong  expression  of  his  self-condemnation 
and  repentance,  and  a  noble  testimony  in  favor  of 
the  cause  to  which  he  was  a  martyr ;  but  although 
it  conformed  so  nearly  to  the  letter  of  the  text,  it 
was  not  strictly  an  exemplification  of  its  spirit. 

The  descendants  and  co-religionists  of  those 
who  put  Cranmer  to  death,  fast  often,  afflict  their 
bodies  and  make  sacrifices,  and  perform  difficult 
works,  and  pay  large  sums,  and  enslave  them- 
selves to  the  power  of  priestcraft,  in  order  to 
secure  the  pardon  of  their  sins,  and  work  out 
their  salvation  meritoriously;  but  that  is  very  far 
from  complying  with  the  sense  of  the  injunction 
in  our  text.  Some,  yes,  great  multitudes  have 
lacerated  their  bodies,  and  subjected  themselves  to 
constant  physical  sufiering,  in  one  form  or  an- 
other, in  order  to  bring  their  unholy  propensities 
into  subjection,  and  free  their  souls  from  the  evil 
which  they  supposed  originated,  and  held  its 
dominion  in  their  bodies.  This,  of  course,  is 
still  farther  from  the  meaning  of  the  Saviour. 

If  we  could  merit  salyation  by  literally  cutting 


236  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

off  our  right  hand,  it  would  infinitely  compensate 
the  sacrifice.  If  a  man's  eye  were  the  source  and 
seat  of  sin,  he  might  well  afford  to  pluck  it  out 
literally,  to  get  rid  of  such  an  enemy.  But, 
alas !  the  seat  of  sin  is  deeper ;  it  is  not  so  easily 
reached;  and  when  reached,  it  can  neither  be 
cut  off  nor  plucked  out  by  a  physical  act.  It  is 
so  identified  with  the  soul  that  it  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated from  it,  except  by  the  thorough  change  that 
is  wrought  in  regeneration,  and  the  process  of 
sanctification  carried  on  by  the  Almighty  Spirit 
of  God.  But  the  Saviour  does  not  refer  in  these 
words  directly  to  the  eradication  of  sin  as  a  prin- 
ciple, but  rather  to  acts  of  sin,  instruments  of  sin, 
occasions  of  sin,  and  the  indulgence  of  sin. 

Let  not  this  be  misunderstood  ;  -it  is  not  inti- 
mated that  he  refers  solely  to  outward  reforma- 
tion, apart  from  inward  sanctification;  but  he 
refers  to  outward  reformation  as  indicative  of  the 
sanctification  of  the  heart,  and  as  a  reacting  means 
under  God,  of  promoting  that  sanctification.  The 
holier  men  are  at  heart,  the  less  sinful  will  be 


THE  SEVERE  DENIAL   OF  SELF.       237 

their   lives.     The   more   they    check,   and   deny 
their  evil  passions  and  desires,   the  more  those 
passions  and  desires  will  be  Aveakened,  and   the 
more  nearly  they  will  be  brought  to  destruction. 
Accordingly   when   the   Scriptures    enjoin    holy 
living,  they  imply  ih^  idea  of  holiness  of  heartl- 
and when  they  inculcate  holiness,   they  include 
the  whole  duty  of  holy  living.     So,  in  the  passage 
before  us  the  Saviour  refers  primarily  and  directly 
to  the  occasions  of  sin,  those  things  which  lead  to 
sin,  but  through  these  he  refers  also  to  the  actual 
indulgence  of  sin.     For  example,  when  he  says, 
avoid  those  things  which  lead  to  covetousness,  he 
says,  in  the  most  emphatical  way,  abstain  from 
covetousness.     And,  therefore,  in  this  discourse, 
we  may  cross  and  re-cross  at  pleasure  this  line  of 
distinction  between  the  external  and  the  internal, 
and  speak  to  the  same  purpose  about  stumbling- 
blocks,  and  about  evil  passions,  about  any  thing 
which  conflicts  with  the  everlasting  interests  of 
the  soul.     "  If  thy  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  offl'^ 
For  convenience  of  arrangement,  the  hand,  and 


238  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

foot,  and  eye,  may  each  be  regarded  as  represent- 
ing with  more  or  less  accuracy,  a  distinct  class  of 
sins  and  stumbling-blocks. 

The  hand,  as  the  ordinary  instrument  of  work, 
suggests  (1)  that  class  of  passions  and  desires 
which  develop  themselves  into  deeds  of  iniquity, 
together  with  those  deeds  themselves.  Light  has 
come  into  the  world,  but  men  love  darkness  rather 
than  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil.  If  we, 
through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the 
body  we  shall  live.  We  must  put  off  the  old 
man  with  his .  deeds.  For  all  the  workers  of 
iniquity  shall  be  scattered ;  the  terrible  sentence 
at  last  w^ill  be,  "  Depart  from  me  ye  that  work 
iniquity.'^  All  those  positive  acts  in  which  the 
natural  man  takes  pleasure,  contrary  to  the  will 
of  God,  we  must  renounce.  They  are  too  nume- 
rous to  be  specified ;  they  are  too  various  to  be 
classified ;  but  whatever  they  be  we  must  abandon 
them.  That  hand  which  works  iniquity,  Ave 
must  cut  it  off.  We  all  have  by  nature  a  spirit 
of  rebellion  against  God,     "The  carnal  mind  is 


THE  SEVERE  DENTAL   OF  SELF.       239 

enmity  against  God.''  The  natural  man  desires 
not  the  knowledge  of  his  ways.  He  deems  the 
service  of  the  Lord  an  uninviting  and  a  hard 
service.  Jehovah  proclaims  his  law  amid  the 
thunders  and  lightnings  of  Sinai,  but  notwith- 
standing his  high  authority,  and  those  terrible 
sanctions,  men  wilfully  and  habitually  disobey  it. 
The  nations  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain 
thing ;  the  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves  and 
the  rulers  take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord 
and  against  his  anointed,  saying.  Let  us  break 
their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords 
from  us.  The  Lord  Jehovah  speaks,  but  men 
refuse  to  hearken,  and  pull  away  the  shoulder, 
and  stop  their  ears.  This  is  his  testimony  con- 
cerning them ;  "  I  have  called  and  ye  refused,  I 
have  stretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man  regarded ; 
but  ye  have  set  at  nought  all  my  counsel,  and 
would  none  of  my  reproof."  Such  is  the  natural 
disposition  of  man;  he  is  disobedient,  self-willed, 
opposed  to  God,  opposed  to  his  law,  and  opposed 
to  his  gospel. 


240  KTRKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

A  familiar  Scriptural  phrase  for  rebellion  is  the 
defiatory  uplifting  of  the  hands.  This  spirit  of 
opposition  we  must  renounce ;  this  high  hand  of 
rebellion,  we  must  cut  it  off.  Even  after  we  be- 
come reconciled  to  God  through  his  Son,  our  con- 
formity to  his  will  is  liable  to  many  disturbances ; 
our  spirit  of  submission  is  prone  to  fickleness. 
While  prosperity  cheers  us,  while  the  current  of 
our  aifairs  runs  smoothly,  while  our  health  is  un- 
touched, while  those  we  love  are  preserved,  our 
love  to  God  is  placid  and  constant.  But  the 
aspect  of  providence  changes ;  some  heavy  afflic- 
tion comes  upon  us,  perhaps,  taking  us  by  sur- 
prise, and  up  goes  the  hand  of  rebellion.  We 
must  cut  it  off;  "  It  is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what 
seemeth  him  good."  It  was  predicted  concerning 
Ishmael,  "  His  hand  will  be  against  every  man, 
and  every  man's  hand  against  him.'^  It  is  a 
figurative  mode  of  expressing  a  spirit  of  conten- 
tion, unfriendliness,  a  disposition  to  injure  others. 
This  disposition,  though  pre-eminently  character- 
istic of  Ishmael,  has  been  by  no  means  confined 


THE  SEVERE  DENIAL   OF  SELF.       241 

to  him.     In  a  less  degree  it  belongs  to  many ;  in 
some  degree  to  all.     Selfishness  belongs  to  human 
nature  everywhere;  and  not  only  do   men  seek 
their  own  welfare,  and  endeavor  to  secure  their 
own  interests  first;  not  only  do  they  seek  their 
own,  often,  to  the .  culpable   neglect   of  others ; 
selfishness  is  not  always  satisfied  even  wath  that — 
it  often  prompts  them  to  take  advantage  of  others, 
to  strengthen  or  distinguish,  or  enrich  or  aggran- 
dize, or  in  some  way  aid  themselves  at  the  ex- 
pense of  others.     It  often  begets  a  jealousy  of 
others, -makes  light  of  them,  throws  obstacles  in 
their  way,  defeats  their  plans,  and  devises  ways 
to  do  them  wrong,  in  order  to  accomplish  its  own 
ends.     Nor  is  this  form  of  selfishness  the  only 
instigator  of  opposition  to  neighbors.     Sometimes 
men  endeavor  to  injure  others  under  the  influence 
of  revenge,  sometimes  even  from  malice,  some- 
times from  prejudice.     They  not  unfrequently  do 
injure  others  without  any  such  deliberate  inten- 
tion.    They  do  it  from  a  mere  passion  for  gos- 
siping ;  from  a  restless  disposition  to  busy  them- 

21 


242  KIRKPATBWK  MEMORIAL. 

selves  about  other  men's  matters;  from  a  censo- 
rious spirit;  from  a  morbid  indulgence  of  suspi- 
cion, or  from  an  excessive  fondness  for  ridicule. 
All  these  injurious  propensities  we  are  bound  to 
mortify.  This  hand  of  opposition  to  others,  we 
must  cut  it  off;  "As  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 

The  most  frequent  use  of  the  hand,  viz.:  in 
the  act  of  grasping,  is  significant  of  another  pro- 
pensity of  our  nature  which  we  must  subdue. 
The  love  of  gain  is  not  rare;  it  is  not  unfre- 
quently  the  ruling  passion;  perhaps  few  are 
wholly  free  from  it.  If  indulged,  it  leads  to  a 
multitude  of  sins;  frauds,  great  and  little,  em- 
bezzlement, forgery,  robbery,  commercial  dis- 
honesty, petty  cheating.  Many  a  young  man  has 
it,  seized  and  branded  even  in  his  youth  with  the 
stigma  of  a  peculator,  or  a  forger.  Many  a  man 
who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  community, 
and  sustained  a  fair  reputation  for  integrity,  has 
been  hurried  by  it  into  that  wholesale  robbery 
which  men  are  wont  to  call  by  some  such  name 


^  THE  SEVERE  DENIAL   OF  SELF.       243 

as  defalcation,  and  overwhelmed  with  lasting  in- 
famy. "They  who  will  be  rich  fall  into  tempta- 
tion and  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and  hurt- 
ful lusts  which  drown  men  in  destruction  and 
perdition." 

Not  only  does  it  lead  to  many  sins;  in  itself  it 
is  forbidden,  it  is  dangerous.  Christ  said  unto 
his  hearers,  "Take  heed  and  beware  of  covetous- 
ness;  for  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abun- 
dance of  the  things  which  he  possesseth."  And 
he  spake  a  parable  unto  them,  saying,  "The 
ground  of  a  certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plen- 
tifully; and  he  thought  within  himself,  saying, 
What  shall  I  do?  because  I  have  no  room  where 
to  bestow  my  fruits.  And  he  said.  This  will  I 
do;  I  will  pull  down  my  barns  and  build  greater; 
and  there  will  I  bestow  all  my  fruits  and  my 
goods,  and  I  will  say  to  my  soul.  Soul,  thou  hast 
much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years;  take  thine 
ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.  But  God  said 
unto  him.  Thou  fool !  this  night  thy  soul  shall  be 
required  of. thee;  then  whose  shall  those  things 


244  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

be  which  thou  hast  provided?  So  is  he  that  lay- 
eth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich  toward 
God/^  This  grasping  hand — this  hand  of  cove- 
tousness— we  must  cut  it  off;  it  will  grasp  too 
much,  it  will  fill  our  bosoms  with  burning  coals. 
If  a  man  is  engaged  in  any  business,  which  from 
its  very  character  interferes  with  the  welfare  of 
his  soul,  it  behooves  him  to  abandon  it.  Or  if 
he  is  engaged  in  business  so  extensively,  if  he  is 
so  engrossed  with  it,  that  he  cannot  find  time  nor 
opportunity  to  attend  properly  to  his  spiritual 
concerns,  he  is  wrong.  His  excessive  devotion  to 
business  is  a  sinful  form  of  worldliness.  It  is 
endangering  his  soul;  it  is  hurrying  him  on 
through  the  bustle  and  turmoil,  and  shifting 
crowds  of  a  great  thoroughfare  down  toward  the 
region  of  everlasting  unrest.  If  he  is  wise  he 
will  abandon  it;  "If  thy  hand  offend  thee^  cut 
it  off." 

"And  if  thy  foot  offend  thee,  cut  it  off."  As 
the  feet  are  the  instruments  of  locomotion,  the 
word  here  suggests  all  that  class  of  sins  which 


THE  SEVERE  DENIAL  OF  SELF.       245 

consist  in  transgressions  of  the  prohibitory  com- 
mands of  God.  He  has  marked  out  certain  limits 
beyond  which  we  may  not  go.  Those  things 
which  induce  us  to  transcend  these  limits  we  must 
discard;  our  propensities  to  transgress  we  must 
deny;  our  excesses  we  must  forego.  We  are 
prone  to  wander  from  the  right  way;  that  dispo- 
sition to  go  astray  we  must  check  and  subdue. 
Many  things  around  us  present  strong  attractions 
to  draw  us  away  from  the  paths  of  duty;  those 
things  we  must  renounce;  those  attractions  we 
must  resist.  ^^My  son/'  says  Solomon,  ^4f  sin- 
ners entice  thee,  consent  thou  not.  Walk  not 
thou  in  the  way  with  them ;  refrain  thy  foot  from 
their  path." 

One  great  cause  of  the  ruin  of  many,  is  their 
fondness  for  the  company  of  those  who  devise 
mischief,  and  stimulate  one  another  to  evil,  and 
exert  a  corrupting  influence;  that  fondness  we 
should  check  at  the  sacrifice  of  social  partialities. 
If  need  be,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  friendship 
of  those  who  are  dangerous  companions;    "Go 

21  * 


246  KIRKPATRICS:  MmtOttlAL. 

not  in  the  Way  of  evil  men.''  Perhaps  they  will 
"think  it  strange  that  ye  run  not  with  them  to 
the  same  excess  of  riot,  speaking  evil  of  you." 
Ah,  this  dread  of  contempt  and  scorn,  this  false 
sense  of  shame,  this  fear  of  men ;  how  many  has 
it  destroyed ;  cast  it  away ;  it  will  lead  you  into  a 
multitude  of  sins;  it  is  an  offence;  it  will  prove 
your  ruin.  Whoever  is  ashamed  of  Christ,  of 
him  will  Christ  be  ashamed.  This  false  pride, 
natural  as  it  is,  deny  it,  subdue  it ;  whatever  they 
may  say,  "  Go  not  with  the  multitude  to  do  evil.'' 
"If  thy  foot  offend  thee,  cut  it  off." 
*^  And  if  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out." 
Let  us  take  a  suggestion  or  two  from  this.  The 
eye,  in  the  style  of  the  sacred  writers,  is  often 
used  for  the  understanding.  Pride  of  reason,  a 
disposition  to  rely  upon  our  own  judgment,  and 
to  make  it  the  ultimate  standard  of  truth  and 
right,  is  a  common  characteristic  of  men.  And  it 
is  both  sinful  and  dangerous.  It  begets  impa- 
tience of  restraint ;  it  fortifies  us  against  salutary 
reproofs ;  it  leads  us  to  think  more  highly  of  our- 


THE  SEVERE  DENIAL   OF  SELF.       247 

selves  than  we  ought  to  think ;  it  leads  to  neglect 
of  the  true  standard  of  truth  in  the  Scriptures. 
It  often  leads  to  perversions  of  the  truth,  and  not 
unfrequently  to  skepticism  and  infidelity.  The 
admonition  of  the  Saviour  is,  subdue  it,  reject  it; 
agreeable  as  it  is  to  the  depraved  heart,  abandon 
it.  Cast  down  imaginations,  and  every  high 
thing  that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge 
of  God,  and  bring  into  captivity  every  thought  to 
the  obedience  of  Christ.  "  Lean  not  to  thine  own 
understanding." 

The  eye,  as  the  instrument  of  vision,  suggests 
among  other  things  our  undue  readiness  to  per- 
ceive the  faults  of  others.  "  And  why  beholdest 
thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye,  but 
considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own 
eye  ?  Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother.  Let 
me  pull  out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye ;  and  be- 
hold a  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye  ?"  "  Judge  not, 
that  ye  be  not  judged."  This  morbid  disposition 
to  judge,  this  censorious  spirit ;  let  us  renounce 
it,  it  is  an  evil  eye,  let  us  pluck  it  out 


248  KIRKPATRICK  MEMOBIAL. 

The  love  of  pleasure  often  proves  a  stumbling- 
block,  especially  to  the  young.  It  stimulates  to 
excessive  indulgence ;  it  often  prompts  to  the  en- 
joyment of  sinful  amusements;  it  weakens  the 
attractions  of  religion;  it  sadly  interferes  with 
heavenly-mindedness ;  it  connives  at  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  the  world ;  it  divorces  the  heart  from 
the  Saviour.  As  the  bright  jeweled  gate- way  of 
delights,  as  the  chief  inlet  of  pleasure  to  the  soul, 
the  eye  may  fitly  represent  this  love  of  pleasure. 
It  is  prone  to  extravagance ;  it  demands  our  con- 
stant vigilance ;  let  us  check  it ;  let  us  keep  it  by 
force  if  need  be,  within  the  restraints  of  true  Chris- 
tian consistency.  The  undue  love  of  pleasure,  the 
love  of  sinful  pleasure ;  let  us  divest  ourselves  of 
it;  let  us  cast  it  away ;  "  If  thine  eye  offend  thee, 
pluck  it  out.'^ 

Now  it  is  plain  that  the  way  to  heaven  is  nar- 
row ;  the  gate  is  strait.  And,  perhaps,  some 
have  been  thinking  already,  that  the  sacrifices  to 
be  made  are  many  and  great.  So  they  are  many, 
and   in  the  view  of  the  natural  man,  they  are 


THE  SEVEBE  DENIAL  OF  SELF.       249 

great.  The  gospel  does  not  conceal  that;  the 
chief  peculiarity  of  the  text  is  its  recognition  of 
the  fact.  If  thy  hand  or  foot  lead  thee  into  sin, 
cut  it  off;  indispensable  as  it  seems  to  your  enjoy- 
ment, cut  it  off;  painful  as  the  operation  may  be, 
cut  it  off.  Additional  intensity  is  given  to  the 
idea,  by  the  very  repetition  of  it;  if  thine  eye 
offend  thee,  or  lead  thee  into  sin,  pluck  it  out; 
hesitate  not  for  the  present  suffering,  but  pluck  it 
out ;  though  it  spoil  half  the  value  of  the  light, 
and  mar  half  the  beauty  of  the  world,  pluck  it 
out.  It  is  not  implied  herein,  that  everything 
which  we  are  called  upon  to  abandon  is  as  valu- 
able as  a  hand  or  an  eye, — nor  that  every  sacri- 
fice which  we  are  called  upon  to  make  will  be  as 
painful  as  amputation ;  but  it  is  taught  that  if 
they  were  we  would  still  be  called  upon  to  bear 
the  self-denial.  It  is  taught  that  whatever  self- 
denial  may  be  required,  more  or  less,  we  are  not 
to  shrink  from  it ;  that  we  are  to  part  with  our 
Bins  and  stumbling-blocks,  however  we  may  de- 
light in  them,  by  nature,  however  closely  they 


250  KIRKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

may  be  connected  with  our  evil  hearts.  Now,  if 
there  be  something  repulsive  about  this,  we  must 
remember  that  this  surgery  is  for  the  saving  of 
life.  Who  would  not  rather  lose  a  limb,  if  it 
were  necessary,  than  his  life  ?  "  It  is  better  for 
thee,''  in  a  spiritual  sense,  to  enter  half  into 
heaven  than  to  go  with  the  whole  body  into 
hell 

These  unholy  things,  we  shall  not  need  in 
heaven 

They  will  do  us  no  good  in  the  world  of 
woe 


VIII. 

JOESSOIfS  FHOM  THE  MANJ!fA. 
And  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat.     1  Corinthians  x.  3. 

FOR  a  purpose  which  will  be  brought  to  view 
in  the  sequel,  the  Apostle  reminds  the  Corin- 
thians of  several  prominent  particulars  in  the 
remarkstble  history  of  the  ancient  Israelites. 
"  Moreover,  brethren,  I  would  not  that  ye  should 
be  ignorant,  how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under 
the  cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea;  and 
were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in 
the  sea ;  and  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat." 
In  an  early  stage  of  our  language  the  word  meat 
was  used  in  a  much  more  general  sense  than  that 
to  which  it  is  now  usually  limited ;  like  the  word 
which  it  is  here  employed  to  translate  it  meant 
food  in  general.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
meat  here  spoken  of  was  the  manna  with  which 


251 


252  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

the  children  of  Israel  were  fed  in  the  wilderness. 
Why  it  is  called  spiritual  meat  is  not  so  easily 
determined ;  as  it  was  designed  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  body,  we  must  depart  at  once  from 
the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  word  spiritual.  Some 
have  understood  it  to  mean  refined,  in  opposition 
to  gross ;  others  have  supposed  it  to  be  so  called 
because  it  typified  spiritual  things ;  others,  because 
it  was  miraculously  bestowed  immediately  from 
God,  without  the  intervention  of  physical  agen- 
cies. "  SpirituaF'  has  various  phases  of  ifteaning. 
It  is  used  in  opposition  to  physical,  to  carnal,  to 
temporal ;  it  is  used  to  denote  that  which  belongs 
to  the  spirit  of  man,  or  that  which  proceeds 
directly  from  the  Spirit  of  God.  This  last  gene- 
ral idea  seems  to  have  been  the  one  which  led  the 
Apostle  to  call  the  manna  spiritual  meat. 

It  may  not  be  amiss,  here,  to  refresh  our  me- 
mories concerning  the  manna  itself,  and  the  his- 
torical circumstances  of  its  first  appearance.  When 
the  provisions  which  the  children  of  Israel  had 
brought  from  the  land  of  Egypt  were  consumed, 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.  253 

they  at  once  became  apprehensive  of  starvation, 
and  began  to  murmur.  The  Lord  did  not,  at 
that  time,  punish  them  for  their  sinful  distrust 
and  complaints,  but  promised  them,  through 
Moses,  a  speedy  supply  of  their  wants.  The  next 
morning,  "when  the  dew  was  gone  up,  behold, 
upon  the  face  of  the  wilderness  there  lay  a  small 
round  thing,  small  as  the  hoar-frost  upon  the 
ground. ''  There  was  a  great  profusion  of  these 
whitish  particles  which  are  compared  to  coriander 
seeds,  aiid  to  pearls.  "And  when  the  children 
of  Israel  saw  it,  they  said  one  to  another,  it  is 
manna,  for  they  knew  not  what  it  was."  Or, 
they  said  one  to  another,  "  man  hu,'^  "  what  is 
it?"  That  question,  doubtless,  ran  throughout 
the  camp,  man  hu  f  man  liu  f  and  that  seems  to 
have  been  the  origin  of  the  name  manna.  Or 
the  words  "  man  hu,"  may  be  translated  "  this  is 
a  portion."  The  Lord  had  previously  said  unto 
them,  "  I  will  rain  bread  for  you,  and  the  people 
shall  go  out  and  gather  a  certain  rate  every  day." 
Then  when  they  saw  it  as  they  knew  no  specific 

22 


254  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

name  for  it,  they  naturally  exclaimed  "  this  is  a 
portion/^  and  hence  it  was  called  manna,  that 
which  is  given  in  prescribed  portions. 

In  some  parts  of  Arabia,  and  especially  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Sinai,  there  is  a  natural 
substance,  answering  in  some  respects  to  the  de- 
scription which  Moses  has  given  of  manna. 
Indeed,  it  is  called  manna,  undoubtedly  on  account 
of  that  resemblance.  It  is  a  gum  which  oozes 
from  a  kind  of  tamarisk  tree  during  the  month 
of  June.  Modern  rationalists  have  endeavored  to 
show,  from  that,  that  there  was  no  miracle  in  the 
case,  and  that  the  Israelites  merely  collected  the 
natural  production  of  the  region  in  which  they 
were  sojourning.  But  it  may  be  answered  first, 
that  the  natural  manna  is  essentially  different,  in 
several  particulars,  from  that  which  fell  upon  the 
camp  of  Israel.  And  secondly,  supposing  them 
to  have  been  precisely  the  same,  it  could  not  liave 
been  less  than  a  miracle  that  furnished  it  in  such 
enormous  quantities ;  "  for  the  entire  produce  of 
manna  found  in  the  whole  peninsula  of  Arabia  in 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.  255 

a  year  would  not  be  equal  to  a  thousandth  part  of 
what  was  necessary  to  supply  the  host  of  Israel 
for  one  day ;"  and  if  all  the  tamarisk  trees  in  the 
w^orld  had  been  gathered  together  tliere  they 
would  not  have  furnished  manna  enough  for  the 
tenth  part  of  the  multitude,  even  while  the  yield 
continued,  and  that  would  have  been  only  one 
month  in  the  year. 

The  partial  resemblance  between  the  natural 
and  miraculous  manna  is  not  wholly  uninstruc- 
tive.  It  is  a  confirmation  of  the  miracle ;  it  is  in 
accordance  with  what  we  know  of  the  ways  of 
God.  His  miracles  were  not  designed  to  startle 
and  astonish  men,  but  partly  to  convince  them  of 
his  wisdom  and  power,  and  to  show  that  he  who 
wrought  them  was  at  the  same  time  the  God  of 
nature.  Hence  there  is  in  most  of  his  miracles  a 
combination  of  the  natural  and  supernatural,  the 
familiar  and  the  extraordinary,  which  makes 
them  more  convincing  than  if  they  were  wholly 
at  variance  with  what  we  are  accustomed  to  call 
nature.     So  when  Christ  came  to  feed  the  hungry 


256  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

miiltitiifles  who  had  gathered  around  him,  he  did 
not  create  some  unknown  or  rare  article  of  food, 
but  inquired  for  what  they  had  already,  and  in- 
creased their  own  loaves  and  fishes  to  an  adequate 
supply.  There  was  wisdom  in  that  plan.  The 
effect  w^as  doubtless  greater  and  better  than  if  there 
had  been  a  much  wider  distinction  apparent  be- 
tween the  natural  and  the  miraculous.  So  in  the 
case  before  us,  the  force  of  the  miracle  is  by  no 
means  diminished,  but  rather  increased,  by  the 
fact  that  a  substance  in  some  respects  similar  to 
the  manna  is  known  to  have  existed,  in  a  small 
quantity,  in  the  same  region. 

There  are  two  classes  of  lessons  which  we  may 
learn  from  the  manna  in  connection  with  its  his- 
torical circumstances.  The  former,  it  teaches 
simply  by  way  of  illustrationy  in  regard  to  the 
interests  of  the  present  life;  the  latter  it  teaches 
by  way  of  typical  signification,  in  regard  to  the 
higher  interests  of  the  soul.  Let  me  simply 
allude  to  some  of  the  former,  and  then  dwell 
chiefly  upon  the  latter. 


LESSONS  FROM   THE  MANNA.  257 

♦ 

In  the  eighth  chapter  of  2d  Corinthians,  Paul 
refers  to  the  distribution  of  the  manna  to  enforce 
the  duty  of  Christian  liberality.  "  For  I  mean 
not/'  said  he,  ^^  that  other  men  be  eased  and  ye 
burdened;  but  by  an  equality,  that  now  at  this 
time  your  abundance  may  be  a  supply  for  their 
wants,  that  their  abundance  also  may  be  a  supply 
for  your  want ;  that  there  may  be  equality ;  as  it 
is  written,  He  that  had  gathered  much  had  no- 
thing over,  and  he  that  had  gathered  little  had  no 
lack."  In  that  disposal  of  the  manna  by  which 
wasteful  excess  was  avoided  on  the  one  hand,  and 
suffering  on  the  other,  and  the  wants  of  all  were 
supplied,  the  Apostle  perceived  a  plain  lesson  of 
Christian  charity.  Lest  we  should  overlook  it,  he 
has  pointed  it  out  to  us,  and  we  shall  do  well  to 
reduce  it  to  judicious  practice.  If  under  the 
favor  of  Heaven,  we  have  gathered  much,  let  us 
not  turn  away  with  cold  hearts  and  closed  hands, 
from  those  who,  in  the  providence  of  God,  have 
been  able  to  gather  but  little  and  are  suffering 
from  want. 

22* 


258  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

The  giving  of  the  manna  may  be  regarded  as 
illustrative  of  our  dependence  upon  God  for  the 
supply  of  our  temporal  wants.  Even  those  who 
acknowledge  their  dependence  upon  God  for 
spiritual  good,  are  prone  to  attribute  their  physi- 
cal support  to  their  own  industry  and  prudence. 
Doubtless  many  of  the  childreli  of  Israel  mani- 
fested the  same  self-confidence, — but  at  last  their 
ordinary  resources  failed,  and  their  self-trust  was 
put  to  shame  by  the  very  mode  of  their  deliverance. 
By  thus  teaching  them,  God  has  taught  us  confi- 
dently and  gratefully  to  acknowledge  our  depend- 
ence upon  him  for  temporal  support,  in  prosperity 
as  well  as  in  adversity ;  to  receive  our  worldly 
possessions  as  almoners  upon  his  bounty,  even 
though  they  do  not  come  immediately  from 
heaven,  and  to  use  them  as  his  stewards. 

Again,  the   manna   became  a  mass  of   living, 
corruption  when  it  was  unnecessarily  hoarded  up ; 
we  need  not  look  to  that  fact  for  any  authorita- 
tive teaching,  but  we  may  see  in  it  an  illustration 
of  the  folly  of  heaping  up  possessions,  with  an 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.       -  259 

avaricious  spirit,  which  instead  of  answering 
profitable  uses,  to  the  glory  of  God,  will  engender 
temptations  and  sorrows.  Such  instructions  may 
be  legitimately  drawn  from  the  occurrence  in 
question  considered  as  a  part  of  Scripture  history. 
But  considered  as  a  part  of  the  preparatory  dis- 
pensation it  was  intended  to  teach  lessons  of  a 
higher  kind,  and  not  merely  to  illustrate,  but  to 
typify  more  specific  Gospel  truths.  On  one  occa- 
sion when  the  Jews  were  plying  Jesus  for  some 
special  sign,  they  enforced  their  plea  by  this 
reference, — "Our  fathers  did  eat  manna  in  the 
desert,  as  it  is  written  he  gave  them  bread  from 
heaven  to  eat."  Instead  of  complying  with  their 
unreasonable  request  for  a  sign,  the  Saviour 
seized  that  opportunity  to  instruct  them  in  regard 
to  the  significancy  of  the  event  to  which  they  had 
alluded.  He  replied,  "  Moses  gave  you  not  that 
bread  from  heaven,  but  my  Father  giveth  you  the 
true  bread  from  heaven.  For  the  bread  of  God 
is  he  who  cometh  down  from  heaven  and  giveth 
life  unto  the  world."     The  meaning  of  which  is 


260  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

manifestly  this ;  that  was  not  the  true  spiritual 
bread  from  heaven,  it  was  only  a  type  of  that ;  it 
prefigured  me ;  "  I  am  the  bread  of  life.'^  The 
history  of  the  giving  and  receiving  of  the  manna 
assumes  a  new  importance  when  we  come  to  re- 
gard it  as  a  type  of  Christ.  With  this  view  of  it, 
let  us  select  a  few  points  of  instruction. 

I.  The  manna  was  in  a  peculiar  sense,  and  most 
manifestly  the  gift  of  God.  It  was  the  product 
of  no  sanctioned  means,  or  blessed  endeavors  upon 
the  part  of  the  needy.  "  When  the  dew  fell 
upon  the  camp  in  the  night,  the  manna  fell  upon 
it."  It  came  directly  from  the  bountiful  hand  of 
Him  wlio  controls  the  operations  of  nature.  In 
this  it  was  fitly  representative  of  Christ.  As  the 
Saviour,  he  is  the  gift  of  God,  completely  out  of 
analogy  with  all  his  ordinary  bestowments.  He 
is  emphatically  "  the  gift  by  grace."  They  who 
would  be  saved  must  receive  him  as  such. 
Imagine  a  self-willed  company  of  Israelites 
ploughing  the  sterile  soil  of  the  desert,  and  solv- 
ing the  dust  to  raise  manna.     There  is  a  fit  repre- 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.        •  261 

sentation  of  sinners  laboring  to  obtain  salvation 
without  accepting  Christ ;  upon  the  gracious  terms 
of  the  gospel.  Would  the  one  have  been  pitiably 
absurd  and  futile?  How  then  does  the  other 
appear?  The  bread  of  life  comes  down  from 
heaven ;  no  earthly  toil,  no  natural  process  can 
produce  it.  Are  there  any  who  reject  it,  or 
hesitate  to  accept  it  because  it  is  a  gift,  placing 
the  stigma  of  helplessness  upon  human  nature, 
and  of  worthlessness  upon  human  merits  ?  Let 
them  picture  to  themselves  a  high-minded  Israel^ 
ite  disdaining  to  stoop  and  pick  up  the  manna 
because  it  did  not  grow  upon  trees  which  he 
himself  had  planted  and  nurtured.  Let  them 
follow  the  wandering  host,  till  they  stumble  over 
the  proud  man's  bleaching  bones,  lying  where  star- 
vation left  them.  They  who  are  saved  are  saved 
by  grace.  Let  the  righteous  sing  for  ever,  "  Thanks 
be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift/'  Let  not 
our  gratitude  be  checked  by  a  'single  emotion  of 
self-complacency;  the  praise  belongs  unto  God. 
Give  unto  him  the  glory  due  unto  his  name. 


262  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

II.  The  manna  was  abundant  as  well  as  free. 
There  was  enough  for  all ;  even  he  who  Iiad  gath- 
ered least  had  no  lack.  So  is  it  with  the  bread 
of  life ;  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ  is  an  ample 
supply  for  all  the  wants  of  all  sinners.  In  him 
personally  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead ; 
in  his  work  were  included  all  the  requisites  to 
complete  and  universal  redemption.  We  know 
not  that  his  sacrifice  with  any  abatement,  or  any 
less  suffering  would  have  sufficed  for  the  salvation 
of  a  single  sinner ;  but  this  we  know,  that  the 
sacrifice  was  adequate  for  all ; — that  Christ  as  he 
is,  ^'  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost,  all  that  come 
unto  God  through  him."  Convicted  sinners, 
while  they  assent  to  this,  are  sometimes  disposed 
to  modify  their  assent  in  regard  to  their  own  case. 
They  say  "  Yes,  he  is  able  to  save  all,  but  I  can- 
not believe  that  he  is  willing  to  save  me." 

The  point  of  analogy  we  are  now  considering 
is  the  abundance  of  the  supply.  It  is  adequate 
for  every  case  and  every  peculiarity  of  destitu- 
tion.    The  bread  of  life  is  inexhaustible.     There 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.  263 

is  a  mystery  here,  a  blessed,  glorious  mystery ;  it 
is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  each  of  us  may  re- 
ceive Christ,  and  all  the  blessings  that  attend 
him,  and  yet  the  bread  of  life  will  be  left  undi- 
minished for  other  famishing  souls,  now  and 
hereafter. 

III.  The  manna  scattered  in  profusion  round 
about  the  camps  was  within  the  reach  of  all.  So 
is  the  bread  of  life.  Suppose  one  of  the  Israelites 
had  died  of  starvation  while  his  fellows  were 
living  luxuriantly  upon  the  heaven-sent  food, 
free  alike  to  all ;  how  much  sympathy  for  him 
could  you  awaken  in  your  heart  ?  He  would  not 
receive  the  means  of  sustenance  that  lay  at  his 
feet,  and  so  he  died ;  he  was  to  be.  blamed  more 
than  pitied,  you  would  say.  Therefore,  thou  art 
inexcusable,  O  man,  whosoever  thou  art  that 
judgest;  for  wherein  thou  judgest  another,  thou 
condemnest  thyself,  for  thou  that  judgest  doest 
the  same  thing.  The  bread  of  life  is  just  as  really 
within  the  reach  of  each  of  us  as  the  manna  was 
within  their  reach.     If  we  reject  it,  or  neglect  it : 


264  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

if  we  do  not  want  it,  and  will  not  have  it,  then 
we  shall  die  with  the  stifling  consciousness  of 
self-destruction,  and  our  only  complaints  at  last 
will  be  self-reproaches. 

ly .  Although  the  manna  was  within  the  reach 
of  all,  still  it  was  worthless  for  their  purposes 
until  it  was  voluntarily  received  and  appropriated. 
Jehovah  might  have  sustained  them  by  his  im- 
mediate agency ;  it  would  have  required  no  greater 
expenditure  of  power  to  sustain  them  without 
food,  than  to  supply  food  by  a  miracle.  He  chose 
the  latter ;  it  was  more  in  accordance  with  the 
flsual  economy  of  his  works,  and  it  served  to 
teach  a  valuable  lesson  in  connection  with  the 
type  of  Christ.  The  bread  of  life  must  be  volun- 
tarily received  and  appropriated ;  we  must  accept 
and  live  upon  Christ  by  faith.  How  long  -  could 
the  Israelites  have  nourished  and  sustained  them- 
selves by  gazing  at  and  admiring  the  manna  as  it 
lay  like  pearls  sprinkled  on  the  ground?  Just 
long  enough  to  starve.  Think  what  you  may  of 
Christ ;  treat  him  as  you  may ;  it  will  be  of  no 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.  265 

avail,  unless  you  receive  him  by  an  appropriating 
faith  as  the  only  bread  of  life. 

Y.  The  manna  was  given  daily.     There  must 
needs  have  been  a  constant  exercise  of  faith  in  the 
providence  of  God.     The  people  were  left  to  be- 
lieve, from  day  to  day,  that  Jehovah  would  con- 
tinue to  renew  the  supply  as  long  as  it  was  needed. 
They  were  left  to  look  for  it  with  a  trusting  spirit. 
So  the  child  of  God  must  look  for  new  measures 
of  spiritual  nourishment  and  strength  day  by  day. 
He  can  lay  up  no  supply  of  grace  for  the  future. 
With  a  spiritual,  as  well  as  a  physical  reference, 
he  must  use  this  seasonable  prayer,  "Give  me 
this  day  my  daily  bread.'     If  they  attempted  to 
hoard  up  manna  for  the  morrow,  their  store  soon 
became   a   mass   of   corruption;   and   so   if   the 
Christian  abandon  the  divinely-appointed  method 
of  continual   seeking   for   new    supplies ;    if  he 
think  that  in  his  past  or  present  experiences  there 
is  a  superabundance  of  nourishment,  and  endeavor 
to  live,  for  awhile,  upon  that,  he  will  soon  find 
that  his  very  mercies  in  their   fulness   have  be- 

23 


266  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

come  sources  of  trouble,  and  temptation  and 
crimination.  Peter  found  it  so ;  he  was  satisfied 
with  the  strength  he  had  acquired;  he  deemed  it 
sufficient  to  meet  his  future  trials,  and  confidently 
exclaimed  "  Though  all  men  forsake  thee,  yet  will 
not  I  ;'^  but,  afterwards,  he  found  that  the  store 
of  strength  upon  which  he  had  reckoned  not  only 
failed,  but  through  his  undue  reliance  upon  it, 
even  proved  to  have  been  the  means  of  aggravat- 
ing his  sin.  O,  let  us  never  imagine  that  we  have 
grace  enough  for  another  day,  but  ever  seek  new 
supplies  as  new  wants  repeatedly  occur. 

That  was  not  a  mere  arbitrary  arrangement  by 
which  the  manna  was  bestowed  in  daily  portions. 
It  was  full  of  typical  significance.  The  true 
bread  of  life  was  to  be  sought  in  daily  portions 
for  daily  necessities.  Alas,  for  those  who  fail  to 
apply  the  instruction !  They  will  find  sad  days 
of  hungering  and  weakness ! 

Such  are  the  points  of  analogy  between' the 
typical  food  of  the  Israelites  and  the  true  bread  that 
Cometh  down  from  heaven.     But  a  just  view  of 


% 


LESSONS  FROM'  THE  MANNA.  267 

the  comparison  requires,  at  least,  au  adtlitioiuil 
glance  at  the  vast  diversities,  between  the  type 
and  the  antitype.  The  one  was  for  the  body, 
and  the  other  for  the  soul ;  the  one  for  a  brief 
sojourn  in  the  wilderness,  the  other  for  all  time 
and  eternity ;  the  one  was  confined  to  a  few,  the 
other  is  offered  to  the  world;  the  one  was  to 
maintain  and  prolong  life,  the  other  to  impart  it ; 
the  life  maintained  by  the  one  was  a  mere  natural 
life,  that  imparted  by  the  other  is  spiritual  and 
eternal  life.  Said  Christ,  ''  Your  fathers  did  eat 
manna  in  the  wilderness,  and  are  dead ;  this  is 
the  bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  that 
a  man  may  eat  thereof  and  not  die."  Let  us 
confine  our  attention,  for  a  moment,  to  this  one 
phase  of  the  contrast.  It  is  particularly  suggested 
by  the  connection  in  which  we  find  the  text. 
The  enjoyment  of  the  manna  is  here  classed  among 
the  external  advantages  and  distinctions  of  the 
ancient  Jews;  the  inadecpiacy  of  those  outward 
advantages  alone,  for  the  purposes  of  salvation,  is 
what  the  Apostle  aims  to  set  before  as.     "  More- 


268  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

over,  brethren;  I  would  not  that  ye  should  be 
ignorant  how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the 
cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea ;  and  were 
all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the 
sea;  and  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat; 
and  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual  drink :  (for 
they  drank  of  that  spiritual  Rock  that  followed 
them :  and  that  Rock  was  Christ.)  But  with 
many  of  them  God  was  not  well  pleased :  for  they 
were  overthrown  in  the  wilderness.  Now  these 
things  were  our  examples,  to  the  intent  we  should 
not  lust  after  evil  things,  as  they  also  lusted.^^ 
The  sum  and  substance  of  those  admonitions,  the 
great  lesson  to  be  learned  from  those  examples,  is 
that  it  is  dangerous,  it  is  fatal  to  rely  upon  mere 
external  privileges,  however  numerous  and  distin- 
guished. In  addition  to  all  their  other  peculiar 
favors,  they  were  fed  with  that  bread  from  heaven 
which  was  the  type  of  the  blessed  Saviour ;  for 
those  who  rested  there,  it  was  all  of  no  avail. 
And  now,  since  the  type  has  been  fulfilled,  it  is 
no  less  true,  that  the  outward  privileges  of  the 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  MANNA.  269 

Christian  dispensation,  with  all  their  number  and 
magnitude,  are  in  themselves  of  no  avail.  Gos- 
pel hearers  are  in  danger  of  this  false  trust.  .  .  . 

Professing  Christians  have  need  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  same  admonitions.  "  Let  him  that 
thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  We 
may  eat  the  bread  of  the  sacrament  and  yet  share 
the  fate  of  the  children  of  Israel,  against  whom 
the  Apostle  warns  us.  We  must  feed  by  faith 
upon  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  an  inward  exercise. 
Let  us  give  diligence  to  assure  ourselves  that  we 
are  living  upon  this  spiritual  participation  of  the 
true  bread  of  life.  '^"'* " 

And,  in  regard  to  others,  let  us  not  Pest  satis- 
fied because  they  have  free  access  to  the  means  of 
grace.  ... 

23  * 


^ 


IX. 

THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PItAYEB. 

What  wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do  unto  thee  ?     Luke  xviii.  41. 

rriHESE  are  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then, 
whether  we  regard  him  as  divine,  or  only  as 
the  commissioned,  faithful,  and  unerring  repre- 
sentative of  God,  sent  to  manifest  his  character, 
this  may  be  understood  as  the  language  of  God. 
Or,  more  definitely,  it  may  and  must  be  under- 
stood as  characteristic  of  the  compassion  and 
mercy  of  God.  The  question  was  addressed  to  a 
suppliant.  It  was  not  the  expression  of  a  sud- 
den and  temporary  emotion  of  pity,  but  was  a 
manifestation  of  that  sympathizing  and  compas- 
sionate spirit  wMch  belonged  to  the  very  nature, 
and  pervaded  the  whole  life  of  the  Saviour.  We 
need  not  regard  it,  therefore,  by  any  means,  as 
confined  to  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  ut- 

270 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PBAYEE.     271 

tered.  Here  speaks  the  tender  mercy  of  God; — 
the  imfailing  and  unchanging  mercy  of  God,  for 
all  ages,  and  for  all  persons.  The  poor  blind 
man  at  Jericho  was  a  sort  of  type  of  humanity. 
He  is  lost  to  view  in  the  midst  of  the  poverty- 
stricken,  helpless,  groping  race.  When  Christ 
spoke  to  him,  God  in  Christ  was  speaking  to  us 
all, — and  this  address  we  may  appropriate  with- 
out presumption,  as  the  language  of  our  heavenly 
Father  to  each  of  us,  "  What  wilt  thou  that  I 
shall  do  unto  thee?^' 

In  its  most  general  sense,  this  is  an  invitation 
to  pray.  As  such,  it  opens  before  us  a  theme  too 
vast  to  be  explored  in  a  few  minutes,  at  which  we 
shall  simply  glance  before  proceeding  to  examine 
the  peculiar  and  most  striking  feature  of  the  text. 
In  this  heavenly  invitation  to  pray,  there  is  im- 
plied : 

First,  our  dependence  upon  God.  A  sense  of 
dependence  belongs  to  the  very  nature  of  man  as 
a  self-conscious  creature.  Fellow-mortal, — are  you 
accustomed  to  deem  yourself  independent?    Then 


272  KIBKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

take  care  of  yourself ; — supply  your  own  wants ; 
hold  your  circumstances  at  your  own  disposal; 
carry  out  your  own  plans ;  baffle  disappointment ; 
never  fail ;  replenish  the  wasting  fountain  of  your 
life ;  never  die ; — or  if  you  must  die, — then,  when 
your  earthly  instruments  of  support  are  taken 
away,  when  your  grasp  is  wrested  from  the  things 
of  sense,  then  buoy  up  your  naked  spirit  in  the 
boundless  ocean  of  immaterial  existence.  You 
cannot  do  all  this, — you  feel  that  you  cannot. 

One  great  misery  of  the  heathen  is  this ; — that 
while  he  feels  his  dependence,  and  cannot  banish 
that  feeling,  yet  he  knows  not  upon  what,  or  upon 
whom,  he  must  depend.  One  of  the  most  pre- 
cious felicities  of  our  lot  is  that  we  know  upon 
whom  we  must  depend.  And  yet  that  would  be 
but  little  more  of  a  blessing  than  a  calamity,  if, 
with  all  our  felt  dependence,  we  could  not  ap- 
proach nor  address  him  with  confidence ; — or,  if 
with  all  his  control  over  us  and  our  interests,  he 
were  known  to  us  only  as  some  distant  personifi- 
cation of  fate. 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER.     27S 

Secondly.  There  is  implied  a  willingness  upon 
the  part  of  God  to  secure  our  welfare.  An  unin- 
telligent sense  of  dependence  is,  in  itself,  hum- 
bling and  distressing ;  but  a  sense  of  dependence 
upon  the  eternal  God  is  ennobling  to  a  creature 
and  a  sense  of  dependence  upon  our  heavenly 
Father  is  soothing  and  cheering  to  a  filial  spirit. 
He  is  kind,  he  is  merciful,  he  is  gracious,  he  is 
willing  to  make  our  true  and  highest  interests  se- 
cure. The  Bible  is  fraught  with  assurances  of 
this,  and  God  is  faithful  and  true.  Then,  let  it 
be  said  that  we  are  helpless  creatures,  incapable 
of  self-support ;  be  it  so, — yet  our  minds  are  re- 
lieved from  torturing  uncertainty,  because  we 
know  Him  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being ;  and  we  may  be  as  effectually  relieved 
from  fear  as  from  uncertainty,  because  we  know 
that  he  is  our  Father,  as  truly  as  our  God. 

But  thirdly ;  this  is  by  no  means  the  limit  of 
our  privilege ;  these  familiar  thoughts  have  been 
suggested  rather  to  prepare  us  for  the  contempla- 
tion of  our  highest  privilege.     We  are  permitted 


274  KIRKPATllWK  MEMORIAL. 

to  draw  near  to  his  throne  of  grace,  and  implore 
his  blessings;  we  are  permitted  to  present  our 
wants  and  ask  for  their  supply.  This,  in  itself, 
apart  from  its  results,  is  the  highest  honor  which 
a  mortal  can  enjoy.  For,  let  us  remember,  it  is 
not  merely  to  approach  God,  it  is  not  merely  to 
address  him ;  it  is  not  merely  to  approach  and  ad- 
dress him  by  permission  and  with  acceptance ;  but 
it  is  confidently  to  ask  favors  at  his  hand.  In 
this  there  is  implied  a  much  closer  intimacy.  In 
this  there  is  implied  a  much  greater  condescension 
upon  the  part  of  God,  and  consequently  much 
greater  distinction  upon  our  part ;  yea,  in  this  there 
is  implied,  if  it  may  be  so  expressed  without  ir- 
reverence, a  kind  of  influence  exerted  by  us  upon 
the  ever-blessed  Father  of  mercies.  True,  God  is 
unchangeable ;  his  purposes  are  no  less  so  than  his 
nature ;  our  petitions  can  not  avail  to  alter  the 
determinations  of  his  will.  No  matter;  let  us 
arrest  that  captious  thought ;  we  will  not  be  led 
away  by  the  questionings  of  half-skeptical  reason 
to  discuss  the  doctrine  of  decrees. 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER.     275 

The  point  for  consideration  now  is  simply  the 
honor  of  the  suppliant.     God  invites  us  to  pray, 
he  is  sincere.     The  invitation  is  not  mockery  nor 
irony.     To  imagine  that  prayer  is  an  unmeaning 
or   useless  ceremony  is  virtually  to  charge  God 
with    the   cruelty  of  heaping  sarcasm    upon  the 
needy  and  wretched.     Since  he  is  sincere  prayer 
must  be  effectual.     Therefore  confining  our  atten- 
tion to  the  suppliant,  we  are  brought  right  upon 
the  conclusion  that  he  is  blessed  with  the  same 
honor,  the  same  in  substance,  as  if  his  petitions 
did,  in  the  most  literal  sense,  exert  a  controlling 
influence  upon  the  Dispenser  of  all  good. 

^  This  leads  me  to  remark,  in  the  same  general 
way,  upon  the  benefit  of  prayer.  One  simple 
proof  that  it  is  of  real  advantage  has  already 
been  suggested.  It  is  that  God  has  invited  us  to 
pray,  and  therefore  prayer  is  effectual,  because 
God  cannot  be  the  author  of  deception.  No  train 
of  argumentation  could  add  certainty  or  stability 
to  that  conclusion.  But  we  are  not  left  to  rely 
upon   that   infallible   inference   alone ;    we   may 


276  KIRKPATRWK  MEMORIAL. 

amass  around  it,  in  adamantine  combination, 
promise  upon  promise,  all  direct,  unmistakable, 
and  confirmed  by  the  seal  of  eternal  truth. 

How  strange  and  dishonoring  to  God,  that 
creatures,  who  are  so  entirely  dependent,  should 
live  so  much  as  if  they  were  self-dependent !  God 
graciously  asks  '^  What  wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do 
unto  thee  ?"  and  they  virtually  answer,  "  We  will 
provide  for  ourselves."  How  strange  and  dis- 
honoring to  God,  that  needy  creatures  who  are  so 
kindly  invited  to  present  their  wants  before  the 
throne  of  grace,  should  treat  that  privilege  with 
scorn  or  cold  neglect !  God  graciously  asks  them 
"What  wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do  unto  thee?"  and 
they  virtually  answer,  "It  makes  no  difference, 
we  will  take  what  we  can  get,  without  thanks- 
giving,— and  do  without  that  which  we  cannot 
get  without  asking."  This  is  no  caricature;  it 
may  be  fairly  said  of  those  who  will  not  pray, 
even  when  the  Hearer  of  prayer  invites  them. 

But  let  us  pass  from  the  general  privilege  and 
duty  of  prayer,  to  a  particular  characteristic  of 


THE  DUTY   OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER.     277 

prayer  suggested  by  the  text.  We  are  not  only 
invited  to  pray,  but  we  are  invited  to  specify  our 
wants.  "  What  wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do  unto 
thee?'^  It  is  a  remark  frequently  made,  and 
with  much  justice,  concerning  the  prayers  which 
we  are  accustomed  to  offer  in  public, — that  they 
are  made  up  too  largely  of  generalities.  It  might 
be  said,  often,  of  those  which  we  do  not  offer  in 
public.  Particularly  of  petition,  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, and  confession  is  a  most  desirable  feature  of 
prayer.  Indeed  the  proper  design  of  prayer  is 
not  fully  answered  without  it.  It  is  supposed  to 
be  the  expression  of  our  wants, — and  when  men 
express  their  wants  naturally,  they  express  them 
definitely.  When  we  desire  a  favor  from  a  friend 
we  do  not  go  and  simply  ask  him  to  accommo- 
date us,  but  we  tell  him  precisely  what  we  want, 
we  are  specific ;  so  we  should  be  in  our  su2:)plica- 
tions  to  God.  So  we  shall  be  if  we  are  sincere 
and  earnest, — except  in  so  far  as  we  are  under 
the  influence  of  bad  habits  of  prayer  acquired  in 
times  of  coldness  and  indifference ; — habits  from 

24 


278  KIRKPATBICK  MEMORIAL. 

which  it  will  be  well  if  the  ardor  of  genuine, 
lively  emotion  release  us.  If  we  oifer  the  same 
prayer  in  different  states  of  mind,  the  conclusion 
is  inevitable  that  our  prayers  do  not  express  otn 
state  of  mind,  as  they  ought, — and  as  they  will, 
if  we  are  honest  and  earnest,  and  untrammelled 
by  burdensome  forms. 

It  is  a  valid  argument — against  prescribed 
forms  of  prayer  that  they  do  not  meet  with  suffi- 
cient precision,  the  peculiarities  and  changes  of 
our  conditions  and  wants ;  but  the  same  becomes 
an  argument  of  equal  force,  against  extempora- 
neous prayers,  when  they  are  habitually  the  same 
in  all  circumstances.  We  ought  to  be  specific  in 
our  prayers ;  not  only  when  we  meet  together  to 
pray  for  some  distinctly  specified  object,  but  in 
our  more  private  and  ordinary  supplications.  If 
this  is  unimportant,  then  we  might  make  one  pe- 
tition answer  for  ourselves,  and  one  more  for  all 
the  race  besides,  and  the  business  of  prayer  would 
soon  be  completed.  We  might  simply  ask  the 
Tiord  to  grant  us  all  needed  good  for  this  life  and 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYEE.     279 

the  life  to  come,  and  to  adapt  his  mercies  to  the 
wants  of  all  classes  of  men,  and  rest  satisfied  with 
that.  Bnt  who  does  not  feel  that  more  is  re- 
quired. The  very  dissatisfaction  that  we  feel  in 
regard  to  grouping  our  desires  under  a  few  such 
comprehensive  requests,  is  an  acknowledgement 
of  the  importance  of  this  rule, — that  we  should 
be  definite  in  our  petitions.  ^'  What  wilt  thou 
that  I  should  do  unto  thee  ?" 

If  we  have  special  wants,  let  us  give  them  spe- 
cial mention.  --  Nothing  is  detracted  from  the  im- 
portance of  tliis  rule  by  the  fact  that  God  is  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  all  our  peculiar  circum- 
stances and  wants.  This  objection  would  lie 
equally  against  all  prayer.  If  he  is  acquainted 
with  our  w^ants  in  particular,  so  he  is  acquainted 
with  them  in  general.  Why  then  express  our 
w^ants  in  comprehensive  terms,  if  not  in  detail  ? 
The  Saviour  well  knew  the  condition  of  the  blind 
beggar  who  sat  by  the  way-side,  and  he  intended 
to  go  and  give  him  relief,  but  he  did  not  see  fit 
to  do  so  until  the  sufferer  had  prayed.     The  blind 


280  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

man  heard  the  noise  of  the  multitude  passing  by, 
and  asked  what  it  meant,  and  they  told  him  that 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  passing,  and  then  he  be- 
gan to  cry  out, — "  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  David,  have 
mercy  on  me ;"  Jesus  well  knew  what  he  needed, 
and  what  he  sought,  but  he  demanded  more  than 
such  an  indefinite  petition.  Instead  of  granting 
the  boon  at  once,  he  asked  him  as  though  he  had 
been  wholly  ignorant,  "  What  wilt  thou  that  I 
shall  do  unto  thee?"  The  application  of  this  has 
been  anticipated ;  the  lesson  is  that  of  specific 
prayer. 

These  considerations  may  serve  to  exhibit  in  a 
clearer  light  the  advantages  of  secret  prayer.  In 
the  closet  that  pointed  question  of  the  text  can  be 
more  fully  and  freely  answered  than  in  the  pre- 
sence of  others,  however  intimate.  In  the  closet, 
there  can  be  made  explicit  confessions  of  particu- 
lar sins,  which  in  the  presence  of  others  would  be 
timidly  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  some  general  ac- 
knowledgement. There  free  utterance  can  be 
given  to  anxieties  and  fears  which  would  be  pent 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER.     281 

up  by  the  restraints  of  any  society.  There  we 
can  pour  forth,  through  the  simple  forms  of  un- 
affected supplication,  peculiar  wants  and  cherished 
desires,  which  in  the  presence  of  others  would  be 
lost  to  view  in  some  comprehensive  phrase,  or 
vain  repetitions.  There,  in  short,  there  is  a  far 
more  intimate,  and  satisfactory,  and  profitable 
communion  between  the  suppliant  spirit  and  the 
Hearer  of  prayer.  Great  indeed  is  the  loss  they 
suffer  who  neglect  frequent,  secret  prayer,  however 
often  or  long,  or  earnestly  they  may  pray,  in  the 
family  or  social  circle ;  there  they  cannot  be  free 
or  minute  enough  to  secure  the  greatest  good. 
"  What  wilt  thou  that  I  should  do  unto  thee?" 
asks  the  Saviour.  To  answer  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, we  must  tell  him  secretly,  and  there  tell 
him  all. 

There  is  expressed  in  these  words  of  the  Saviour 
a  sublime  consciousness  of  power  and  willingness 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  any  and  every  case. 
In  this  view,  it  is  replete  with  consolation.  "  The 
heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness."     Every  man 

24  * 


282  KiRKPATRtCK  MEMORIAL. 

has  his  own  peculiarities  of  character  and  condi- 
tion ;  and  it  is  in  regard  to  them  that  he  is  always 
most  solicitous.  The  question  with  him  is  not 
chiefly  whether  there  is  an  adequate  supply  for  the 
wants  which  are  common  to  all,  but  whether  any 
provision  has  been  made  for  the  particular  exi- 
gency of  his  own  case.  All  his  ordinary  wants 
combined  sink  into  insignificance  often,  in  com- 
parison with  some  one  pressing  necessity;  and 
then  it  matters  little  what  abundance  of  other 
blessings  may  be  accessible,  so  long  as  that  indis- 
pensable one  is  beyond  his  reach.  What  great 
diiference  did  it  make  to  the  blind  wayfarer  at 
Jericho,  how  skilfully  Jesus  of  Nazareth  could 
unstop  the  ears  of  the  deaf,  or  how  he  could  give 
faculties  of  speech  to  the  dumb,  or  how  he  could 
raise  the  dead  ?  He  was  not  dead,  nor  dumb, 
nor  deaf,  but  he  was  blind.  The  object  of  his 
longing  was  sight,  he  wanted  some  one  who  could 
open  his  eyes,  and  pour  light  into  the  dark 
chambers  of  his  soul ;  nothing  else  would  have 
sufficed.     If  they  had  made  him  king,  he  would 


THE  DVTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER.     288 

still  have  been  blindo  What  was  any  doer  of 
mighty  deeds  to  him,  unless  he  could  dissipate 
the  suffocating  darkness  that  had  not  only  gath- 
ered densely  around  him,  but  had  gone  down  into 
the  very  depths  of  his  being  ?  "  What  wilt  thou 
that  I  should  do  unto  thee,"  said  Jesus,  and  out 
of  the  excessive  abundance  of  his  heart,  he 
abruptly  answered,  "  Lord  that  I  may  receive  my 
sight/' 

An  Arab  had  lost  his  way  in  the  desert  and  was 
in  danger  of  dying  from  hunger  and  thirst. 
After  wandering  long,  he  found  one  of  the 
cisterns  or  water-pits  out  of  which  the  pilgrims 
water  their  camels,  and  found  a  little  leathern  sack 
lying  near  it  upon  the  sands.  "  God  be  praised," 
said  he,  as  he  raised  it  up,  and  felt  of  it ;  "  thesp 
are  certainly  dates  or  nuts,  how  I  will  quicken 
and  refresh  myself  with  these !''  In  this  sweet 
hope  he  quickly  opened  the  sack,  saw  what  it 
contained,  and  then  cried  out  with  the  utmost 
sadness,  "  Alas,  it  is  nothing  but  pearls  !"  Have 
not  your    ardent    longings    been    disappointed, 


284  KIBKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

many  a  time,  in  some  way  similar  to  that  ?  Have 
you  not  some  insatiable  hungerings  in  the  midst 
of  the  greatest  abundance  ?  Have  you  not  some 
individual  wants  which  pearls  cannot  satisfy, 
which  the  world  cannot  satisfy,  which  all  the  quick- 
eyed  ingenuity,  and  faithful  devotion  of  earthly 
friendship  leave  empty  still?  Even  when  our 
wants  are  but  the  common  wants  of  humanity, 
yet  we  know  our  own  so  much  more  fully,  and 
we  feel  them  so  much  more  sensibly,  that  they 
seem  to  be  peculiar.  Is  there  not,  then  a  large 
store  of  consolation  in  this  pointed  question  of 
the  Saviour  ?  It  is  like  saying  to  each  of  us,  "  If 
you  have  some  special  desire ;  if  you  are  giving 
way  before  the  pressure  of  some  particular  neces- 
sity, if  some  peculiar  emergency  has  overtaken 
you,  come  unto  me ;  what  wilt  thou  that  I  shall 
do  unto  thee  ?" 

Let  us  regard  this  question  as  addressed  to  each 
of  us.  If  we  ask  bread  he  will  not  give  us  a 
stone.  If,  indeed,  under  some  worldly  delusion, 
we  ask  a  stone,  he  may  give  us  bread ;  if  we  be 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPECIFIC  PRAYER.     285 

deceived  about  our  wants,  he  may,  indeed,  disajp- 
point  us,  but  by  that  very  disappointment  he  will 
mercifully  correct  our  error.  But  if  we  go  to 
him  with  our  real  wants,  whatever  they  may  be, 
we  shall  find  him  able  and  willing  to  supply 
them.  Here,  however,  we  must  not  forget  that 
the  Lord's  compassion  does  not  overrule  his 
wisdom ;  that  his  condescension  does  not  take  the 
place  of  his  sovereignty.  Hence  it  follows  that 
this  question  is  to  be  subjected  to  some  modifica- 
tion in  our  understanding  of  it.  The  Lord  has 
no  where  promised  to  make  any  human  will 
the  standard  of  his  providential  government. 
He  has  no  where  promised  directly,  nor  by  im- 
plication, to  grant  us  every  temporal  good,  real  or 
imaginary,  which  we  are  disposed  to  ask.  When 
he  said  to  the  blind  man,  "  What  wilt  thou  that  1 
shall  do  unto  thee  ?''  he  did  not  thereby  pledge 
himself  to  comply  with  his  request,  whatever  it 
might  be,  or  however  it  might  be  presented. 
Suppose  the  man  had  simply  asked  for  alms,  the 
Saviour  might,  without   insincerity,  have  refused 


286  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

him.  His  omniscience  might  have  seen  an  error 
in  that,  and  he  might  according  to  his  sovereign 
choice,  have  passed  by  and  left  him  as  he  was,  or 
have  transcended  his  request  by  enriching  him 
still  with  the  blessing  of  sight.  AYe  must  not 
only  ask  aright,  we  must  not  only  ask  in  sincerity, 
and  in  earnestness,  and  in  faith,  but  we  must  ask 
for  things  agreeable  to  his  will. 

There  is  a  two-fold  distinction  here  between 
temporal  and  spiritual  things.  (1.)  In  regard  to 
temporal  things  we  cannot  know  in  advance,  what 
is  the  will  of  God.  It  may  be  his  will  that  we 
shall  suffer  adversity,  or  enjoy  prosperity,  that  we 
shall  lose  or  that  we  shall  gain,  etc.  .  .  .  There- 
fore our  prayers  for  temporal  good  must  be 
brought  within  narrow  limits,  and  subjected 
to  strict  restraints.  But  in  regard  to  spiritual 
things  the  case  is  somewhat  different;  God 
will  have  all  men  to  pray.  What  wilt  thou, 
fellow-sinner,  that  he  should  do  for  thee? 
(2.)  God  gives  many  temporal  blessings  with- 
out prayer.       He   sends   the   rain.  .  .  .  Not   so 


THE  DUTY  OF  SPEVIFIQ  PRAYER.      287 

with  spiritual  good.  .  .  .  He  saves  no  man,  till  he 
desires  it  and  seeks  it.  .  .  . 

He  is  willing  to  save,  but  we  must  ask  him. 

The  prayer  of  the  blind  man  did  not  make 
Jesus  willing  to  give  sight,  for  the  willingness 
preceded  the  request.  But  the  prayer  secured  the 
gift  of  sight. 

To  be  let  alone,  when  Jesus  is  passing  by! 
Think  what  that  would  be !  .  .  . 


X. 

THE  FUTUME  SATISFACTION, 

I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness.  Ps.  xvii.  15. 

TT  is  a  well-established  rule  in  the  interpreta- 
-■-  tion  of  the  word  of  God, — that  the  sense  of 
Scripture,  is  in  general,  one — and  that  our  ob- 
ject, in  interpreting  any  passage,  should  be  to 
bring  out  the  very  thought  which  the  sacred  writer 
intended  to  express.  This  is  a  canon  of  funda- 
mental importance ;  the  neglect  or  abuse  of  it  has 
led  to  a  multitude  of  extravagancies,  and  perver- 
sions, and  vagaries.  Whenever  men  depart  from 
it,  in  their  pretended  explanations  of  the  word  of 
God,  they  assume  the  bold  and  dangerous  pre- 
rogative of  assigning  whatever  meaning  they 
please  to  "  the  words  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teach - 
eth."  But  while  it  is  true  that  every  passage  has 
one  specific  meaning,  and  strictly  speaking,  only 

288 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  289 

one ;  and  while  it  i.s  true  that  it  is  the  business 
of  the  professed  interpreter  to  find  that  one  mean- 
ing, and  not  to  devise  others ;  still,  it  is  not  only 
allowable,  but  may  be  highly  profitable,  to  make 
various  applications  of  that  meaning,  and  to  fol- 
low out  the  ideas  which  are  merely  suggested  by 
it ;  provided  we  do  not  go  beyond  the  analogy  of 
Scripture,  and  provided  we  confine  ourselves  to 
truths  which  are  elsewhere  taught,  and  conclu- 
sions elsewhere  reached  by  inspired  reasoning. 

It  is  designed  to  make  use  of  the  text  before 
us  upon  this  general  principle.  The  ambiguity 
of  construction  in  the  original,  as  well  as  in  the 
translation,  is  such  as  to  leave  us  in  some  uncer- 
tainty concerning  the  precise  idea  which  the 
Psalmist  intended  to  express.  This  affords  no 
ground  of  objection  or  suspicion  as  to  the  ade- 
quacy of  inspiration,  nor  should  it  start  a  momen- 
tary tremor  in  our  confidence,  because  either  of 
the  senses  in  which  the  words  may  be  understood 
is  natural,  consistent  with  other  truths,  and  highly 
valuable.     Besides,  this  very  ambiguity  furnishes 

25 


290  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL, 

an  occasion  of  giving  greater  variety  to  our  medi- 
tations. 

I.  We  may  read  the  text  in  this  way ;  "  When 
I  awake,  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  thy  likeness/' 
This  word,  '^likeness/'  does  not  necessarily 
mean  abstract  resemblance.  It  is  the  same  word 
which  is  used  in  the  law, — '  Thou  shalt  not  make 
unto  thec-any  graven  image,  nor  any  likeness  of 
anything  that  is  in  the  heaven  above  or  that  is  in 
the  earth  beneath.'^  It  signifies  the  visible  form, 
the  image, — the  appearance.  When  I  awake,  I 
shall  be  satisfied  with  thine  appearance.  This  re- 
fers us  to  the  manifestations  of  God.  There  are 
clear  manifestations  of  God  which  are  just  as  ac- 
cessible and  perceptible  to  the  unconverted  as  to 
the  Christian.  Any  man  who  is  surrounded  with 
the  light  of  the  Gospel,  can  behold  in  the  works 
of  creation,  on  every  hand,  displays  of  Divine 
power,  and  wisdom,  and  goodness.  Any  man,  who 
reads  the  word  of  God,  can  find  represented  there 
those  attributes  which  characterize  Jehovah  as  a 
moral  Being,  as  the  central  object  of  all  true  re- 


THJ^  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  291 

ligion.  Any  man,  who  traces  the  character  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  can  discover,  in  all  its  fea- 
tures of  unblemished  loveliness,  the  glory  of  the 
Godhead,  Still,  in  all  these,  the  unregenerate  see 
but  little.  What  is  dim  and  vague  to  them  is 
clear  and  sun-bright  to  the  enlightened  believer. 
He  may  be  unskilled  in  natural  science;  he 
may  know  but  little  about  the  wondei*s  of  the 
heavens:  the  technicalities  of  philosophy  may  be 
unknown  or  unmeaning  to  him  ;  he  may  know 
but  little  of  the  multitudinous  phenomena  which 
arrange  themselves  in  accordance  with  the  sub- 
lime laws  of  the  universe ;  he  may  be  acquainted 
with  only  those  instances  of  wise  formation,  pro- 
vision, and  adaptation  which  have  fallen  within 
the  range  of  his  own  observation,  and  yet  he  may 
be  far  better  pleased  and  more  profited  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  God  in  the  world  than  the  most  suc- 
cessful votary  of  science,  who  is  destitute  of  his 
spiritual  vision.  And  so,  although  he  may  have 
but  little  critical  knowledge,  and  no  more  than  an 
ordinary  faculty  of  discovering  character  in  truth- 


292  KIRKPATRICK  3IE MORTAL. 

fill  biography,  yet  he  may  see  far  more  of  the 
glory  of  God  in  his  word  and  in  his  Son  than  the 
ripest  scholar,  and  the  acutest  discerner,  whose 
eyes  are  still  covered  by  the  film  of  natural  de- 
pravity. While  the  one  looks  at  the  Bible  only 
as  a  remarkable  book,  the  other  gazes  at  it 
as  a  luminous  revelation  of  Deity.  AYhile  the 
one  glances  at  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  turns 
away,  with  ill-concealed  indifference,  as  from  ''a 
root  out  of  dry  ground  without  form  or  comeli- 
ness," the  other,  with  reverential  admiration, 
gazes  upon  him  as  ^^  the  chief  among  ten  thou- 
sand, and  altogether  lovely."  While  the  one  may 
indeed  be  said  to  have  only  indistinct  imagina- 
tions as  incorrect  as  they  are  indistinct, — the  other 
has  views  of  him,  actual  and  clear.  While  the 
one  either  ignores  His  existence,  and  is  insanely 
content  with  a  blind  ignorance, — or  vainly  specu- 
lates about  His  un discoverable  nature,  and  Avith 
a  complaining  spirit,  wonders  at  His  hidden  ma- 
jesty,— the  other  is  satisfied  with  his  appearance. 
But  those  which  have  been  alluded   to  are,   by 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFAf'TIOK.  293 

no  means,  the  only  manifestations  of  God.     He 
presents  himself  to  our  view  in  the  dispensations 
of  Providence.       There  the  wicked,  perhaps   do 
not  see  him,  unless  it  be  in  some  time  of  sore 
trouble,  and  then  he  seems  to  stand  before  them 
as  a  stern  ruler  with  the  lifted  rod  of  justice,  and 
the   stern  frown  of  righteous    indignation,   and 
from  that  sight  they  shrink  away  with  trembling 
dread,  or  muttered  displeasure.     The  true  believer 
never  loses  sight  of  Him  in  the  sphere  of  provi- 
dence.    In  prosperity  he  sees  Him  smile  and  re- 
joices ;  in  adversity  he  peers  through  the  gloom 
and   finds   that,  even    in   his   aspect  of  parental 
severity  there  is  enough  of  the  warm  light  of 
compassion  first  to  beautify,  and  then  to  dry  up 
his  tears  ;  and  distinguishing  between  the  fearful 
glances  of  judicial  anger,  and  the  reproving  gaze 
of  fatherly  displeasure,  he  is  still  satisfied  with  his 
appearance. 

There  is  still  another  sense  in  which  God  in 
Christ  is  visible  to  the  Christian.  The  aggregate 
of  spiritual  blessings  on  earth  is  expressed  by  the 

25* 


294  KIRKFATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

Saviour  as  a  manifestation  of  himself.  In  that 
cheering  valedictory  address  to  his  disciples,  by 
which  he  quieted  the  grief  he  had  excited  by  the 
mournful  prophecy  of  his  death,  he  said,  ''  He 
that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and 
I  will  love  him  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him. 
Judas  said  unto  him,  Lord,  how  is  it  that  thou 
wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us  and  not  unto  the 
world  ?  Jesus  answered.  If  a  man  love  me,  he 
will  keep  my  words,  and  my  Fath"fer  will  love  him, 
and  we  will  come  unto  him  and  make  our  abode 
with  him."  In  this  sense  he  is  hidden  from  the 
view  of  the  world ;  but  to  his  own  people  he  is  ^ 
graciously  present;  he  dwells  with  them.  The 
inward  assurance  of  this  favorable  presence  is  the 
source  of  their  peace  and  conscious  security,  and 
joy  and  hope ;  he  is  with  them,  in  their  going  out, 
and  in  their  coming  in,  as  "  a  friend  that  sticketh 
closer  than  a  brother.''  While  they  walk  Avith 
him,  and  hold  communion  with  him,  and  behold 
these  special  manifestations  of  himself  in  the 
midst  of  the  ungodly  world  and  yet  beyond  their 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  295 

sight,  they  themselves  being  shut  up  with  Him,  as 
it  were,  in  a  little  sphere  of  light  inaccessible  to 
others,  they  are  satisfied  with  his  appearance. 

IL  ^^AVhen  I  awake,"  said  the  Psalmist. 
From  this  it  has  been  inferred  that  this  was  com- 
posed and  designed  as  an  evening  song,  and  that 
these  joyful  words  were  uttered  in  anticipation  of 
a  tranquil,  happy  rising  from  the  rest  of  night. 
By  some  it  has  been  understood  to  signify  "  when- 
ever I  awake.''  -  As  if  he  had  said,  after  having 
spoken  in  the  last  verse  of  the  prosperity  of  the 
men  of  the  world,  and  having  described  them  as 
seeking  their  portion  in  this  life,  'Svhile  they 
think,  day  and  night,  of  their  possessions  and 
their  pleasures,  I  sleep  in  the  quietude  of  safety 
beneath  the  shield  of  God's  protection,  and  rejoice, 
whenever  I  awake,  in  the  sight  of  his-  reconciled 
countenance,  and  the  consciousness  of  friendship 
with  him."  This  satisfaction  is  not  confined  to 
any  occasion,  nor  to  any  season.  It  is  the  grand 
peculiarity  of  the  Christian's  earthly  portion,  the 
distinguishing   characteristic   of   his  daily  expe- 


296  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

rieiice,  the  solace  of  his  waking  hours.  If,  indeed, 
through  spiritual  declension,  he  be  deprived  of  it 
for  a  while,  as  long  as  that  privation  lasts  it  is 
night  with  him,  and  though  he  seem  to  be  awake, 
he  is  still  asleep.  When  the  day  again  breaks  in 
upon  him,  and  startles  him  from  his  slumber,  then 
he  beholds  the  face  of  God  in  righteousness,  and 
is  satisfied  with  his  appearance. 

Still,  our  views  of  God  in  this  life  are  partial 
at  the  most,  and  vague  at  the  best.  ^'  The  heavens 
declare  his  glory,"  in  a  measure,  but  his  full  glory 
is  displayed  only  above  the  heavens.  Here  all 
his  manifestations  are  distant,  or  incomplete,  or 
occasional  through  defects  of  our  vision ;  here, 
we  cannot  even  behold  him  as  he  is  revealed,  nor 
can  we  appreciate  what  we  do  behold.  Though 
our  views  of  him  are  not  delusions ;  though  he 
does  manifest  himself  unto  us  as  he  does  not 
unto  the  world ;  though  he  does  come  and  make 
his  abode  with  us ;  though  we  are  richly  blessed 
in  the  enjoyment  of  his  presence  and  communion, 
yet,  after  all,  we  are  but  partially  satisfied  with 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION,  297 

his  appearance  here.  But  there  is  to  be  another 
awakening,  an  awakening  from  the  sleep  of  death ^ 
an  awakening  upon  the  morning  of  the  eternal 
day.  Then  we  shall  see  God.  Then  we  shall 
see  him  upon  his  throne ;  then  we  shall  see  him 
in  the  midst  of  the  heavenly  host ;  then  we  shall 
see  him  in  his  own  dwelling-place  where  he  dis- 
plays the  brightest  effulgence  of  his  glory ;  then 
we  shall  see  no  longer  "  through  a  glass^  darkly/' 
but  ^'  face  to  face ;"  then  we  shall  look  with  unbe- 
clouded  eyes  upon  his  unshaded  splendor;  then 
we  shall  be  satisfied,  completely  and  forever 
satisfied  with  his  appearance. 

To  wake  up  from  a  refreshing  sleep  and  look 
out  upon  a  dazzling  winter  scene,  where  thousands 
of  snow-wreaths  sparkling  and  flashing  in  the 
morning  light,  hang  in  festoons  upon  the  bending 
branches,  and  in  graceful  drapery  around  the 
leafless  shrubs,  and  deck  every  unsightly  thing  in 
charming  attire,  and  illude  the  eye  with  the 
mimicry  of  all  that  is  beautiful ;  that  is  exhil- 
arating indeed.     To  wake  up  from  a  refreshing 


298  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

sleep  and  look  out  at  once  upon  the  sun  as  he 
rises  above  the  horizon,  in  gorgeous  sheen,  and 
scatters  his  gems  upon  the  hill  tops  until  in  their 
profusion  they  roll  down  into  the  grassy  vales, 
and  pours  his  treasures  of  rosy  light  into  the 
bosoms  of  the  sentinel  clouds  that  have  lingered 
around  the  place  of  his  appearing ;  that  is  enough 
to  fill  the  sensitive  soul  with  refined  delight.  But 
who  taking  advantage  of  those  emotions  of  the 
hip-hest  grade  to  which  human  experience  has 
attained,  who  can,  for  a  moment,  imagine  the 
rapture  that  will  vibrate  through  and  through  the 
sons  of  immortality,  when  they  awake  from  the 
sleep  of  death  to  behold  the  Son  of  God  coming 
in  the  gilded  clouds  of  heaven,  in  a  chariot  of 
fire,  with  the  glory  of  his  Father,  and  with  all 
the  holy  angels  in  their  majestic  flight  and  dazzling 
array  ?  O,  when  we  awake  at  last,  we  shall  be 
satisfied  indeed  with  the  appearance  of  God. 

My  unconverted  friend,  you  too  must  awake ! 
for  the  trumpet  sliall  sound,  and  the  slumber  of 
every  victim  of  death  shall  be  broken.     At  that 


THE  FVTVllE  SATISFACTION.  299 

awakening  will  you  be  satisfied  with  his  appear- 
ance ?  If  you  die  as  you  now  are,  will  you  exult 
in  the  sight  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed 
from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,  in  flaming 
iire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God  and  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  ?  Will  you 
be  satisfied  wdth  his  appearance  when  he  sits 
upon  his  great  white  throne  and  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  are  fleeing  away  from  before  his  face  and 
you  yourself,  though  longing  to  escape  even  by 
joining  in  that  rush,  are  spell-bound  with  dismay 
in  the  very  blaze  of  his  holy  wrath?  Will  not 
the  very  sight  of  the  offended  God  upon  his 
awful  tribunal  of  justice  and  judgment,  be 
enough  to  blast  the  guilty  soul  into  a  shrunken 
victim  of  eternal  death  ?  Would  you  avoid  that 
view,  would  you  stand  upon  his  right  hand,  would 
you  catch  his  gracious  smile  of  recognition  that 
shall  send  an  everlasting  thrill  of  pleasure  through 
the  immortal  spirit  ?  Then  hasten  to  be  reconciled 
unto  him,  as  he  is  now  willing  to  be  reconciled 
unto  you  through  the  death  of  his  Son.     Hasten 


300  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

to  seek  his  favor  now  ;  hasten  to  secure  your  final 
acceptance ;  abandon  your  course  of  rebellion,  and 
make  your  peace  with  God.  Then  you  may  re- 
joice in  every  manifestation  of  his  presence  here, 
and  admire  and  adore  in  the  beatific  vision  for 
ever. 

III.  The  Christian  is  not  only  to  awake  to  be- 
hold the  appearance  of  God,  but  to  awaken  in  the 
likeness  of  the  incarnate  Son.  "  It  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be  ;  but  we  know  that  when 
he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall 
see  him  as  he  is."  The  words  of  the  text  may  be 
appropriately  regarded  as  pointing  to  that  glorious 
assimilation,  and  the  believer  may  look  forward 
to  the  resurrection  morning  and  exclaim,  "  I  shall 
be  satisfied,  when  I  awake  in  thy  likeness." 

IV.  Now  in  what  will  this  satisfaction  consist? 
1.  He  will  be  satisfied  with  himself.     If  there 

be  a  man  on  earth  who  is  satisfied  with  himself 
now,  he  is  one  to  be  singled  out  as  the  miserable 
object  of  universal  pity.  He  does  not  know  him- 
self; he  is  the  victim  of  a  pleasing  but  most  dan- 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  301 

gerous  delusion.  When  we  look  with  an  impar- 
tial eye  upon  ourselves  as  we  are,  our  minds  de- 
praved, our  hearts  corrupt,  our  bodies  frail,  the 
sport  of  pains,  and  diseases  which  are  but  the 
harbingers  of  death,  how  can  we  be  satisfied  with 
ourselves?  As  mortals  we  are  well  called  'Svorms 
of  the  dust ;" — as  moral  beings  we  are  by  nature 
polluted,  and  at  the  very  best  mournfully  imper- 
fect. Although  it  is  not  needful  nor  well,  for 
any  man  to  cherish  a  morbid  disgust  of  himself, — 
yet  our  only  appropriate  egotism  is  the  language 
of  deep  humility  and  self-condemnation.  It  is  a 
thousand  pities  that  a  sinful  dying  man  should  be 
satisfied  with  himself.  But  if  we  awake  in  the 
likeness  of  Christ,  we  shall  have  abundant  reason 
to  be  satisfied ;  for  we  shall  be  pure  as  he  is  pure ; 
we  shall  be  perfect  as  he  is  perfect ;  immortal  as 
he  is  immortal ;  all-glorious  as  he  is  all-glorious. 
There  will  be  no  pride  in  heaven,  but  as  the  ran- 
somed look  with  adoring  wonder  upon  the  Lord 
Jesus,  in  whose  image  they  have  been  immortal- 
ized,  every  soul   will   be   sweetly  soothed   by  a 

26 


302  KIRKPATnWK  MEMORIAL. 

holy  self-complacency  :  self-complacency,  without 
pride. 

2.  He  will  be  satisfied  with  his  residence.  Now 
he  is  ready  to  exclaim, 

"  I  would  not  live  alway ;  I  ask  not  to  stay, 
Where  storm  after  storm  rises  dark  o'er  the  way." 

True,  when  God  cursed  the  earth,  he  did  not  de- 
face all  the  beauty  of  the  world ;  he  left  oases  in 
the  deserts,  flowers  among  the  thorns;  fruits 
hanging  on  the  very  briers ;  he  sent  spring  and 
summer  to  repair  the  wastes  of  winter.  There 
are  many  things  to  admire,  many  things  to  love, 
many  things  to  enjoy  ;  yet  we  see,  on  every  hand 
plain  proofs  of  the  fall,  unsightly  indications 
of  ruin,  diligent  ministers  of  suffering  and  deep 
sources  of  misery.  This  world  is  a  far  better 
place  than  sinful  man  deserves,  but  it  is  not  a 
suitable  home  for  the  happy.  Even  with  our 
partly  developed  susceptibilities,  we  are  not  satis- 
fied with  it.  But  in  heaven  there  will  be  no 
complaint ;  there  are  no  imperfections  nor  marks 
of  ruin  nor  signs  of  decay  in  the  architecture  or 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  303 

decorations  of  the  holy  city.  Not  only  are  the 
mansions  in  our  Father's  house  beautiful  beyond 
description,  with  lavish  richness  ministering  to 
the  taste  in  its  celestial  refinement,  but  that  house 
is  the  believer's  home ;  there  all  the  comforts  of 
home  abound ;  all  the  conceivable  delights  of 
redeemed  spirit's  home  are  there  in  rich  profusion, 
and  there  is  no  outward  occasion  of  momentary 
disquietude.  As  the  believer  walks  the  golden 
streets  of  the  holy  Jerusalem,  and  looks  upon  its 
gem-built  walls  as  they  glitter  in  the  light  of  the 
glory  of  God,  and  glances  from  one  to  another  of 
the  uncounted  beauties  and  splendor  that  surround 
him,  he  will  be  satisfied  with  his  abode. 

3.  He  will  be  satisfied  with  his  company. 
There  will  be  no  contention  there,  no  bickerings, 
no  jealousy,  no  censure,  no  scorn,  no  contempt, 
no  cold  indifference ;  but  love,  sacred  love  in  its 
gentleness  and  strength,  will  sway  all  hearts  in 
perfect  unison  of  feeling.  The  fellowship  will 
be  intimate,  unselfish,  ennobling.  In  that  ex- 
change of  lofty  thoughts,  and  holy  sympathies,  no 


^ 


304  KtRKPATPJCK  MEMORIAL. 

inquiry  of  the  Christian's  mind,  nor  longing  of 
his  heart  will  be  left  to  seek  in  vain  for  its  full, 
and  appropriate  pleasure. 

4.  He  will  be  satisfied  with  his  employment. 
To  worship  and  praise  Jehovah  will  be  his  high- 
est delight.  There  is  no  weariness  in  heaven. 
The  service  is  rest ;  the  duties  are  rapturous  en- 
joyments ;  the  songs  of  adoration  will  be  mingled 
with  outbursts  of  sanctified  gladness.  Yes,  he 
will  be  satisfied,  in  all  respects ;  completely  and 
for  ever  satisfied.  Ye  who  have  had  so  many 
wishes  denied ;  so  many  desires  left  to  devour 
themselves  by  their  own  unavailing  ardor :  so 
many  hopes  disappointed ;  imagine  if  you  can, 
what  it  is  to  be  satisfied ;  in  all  things  satisfied^ 
Would  you  know  what  it  is,  by  blissful  and  ever- 
lasting experience?  Then  prepare  to  awake  in 
the  likeness  of  Christ.  As  you  fall  asleep  so  you 
will  awake.  If  you  die  in  your  sins,  and  under 
the  frown  of  God,  you  will  awake  to  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt ;  you  will  awake  never  to 
rest  again;  you    will    awake   in    some   distorted 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  305 

form ;  the  victim  of  insatiable  despair.  If  you 
fall  asleep  in  Jesus,  you  will  awake  in  his  like- 
ness, and  be  for  ever  satisfied.  And  now,  lest  you 
should  fall  asleep  unexpectedly,  speedily,  and 
awake  to  weep  when  it  is  too  late,  seek  at  once  to 
be  united  to  Christ  by  a  saving  faith.  .  .  . 

Let  us  consider  some .  of  the  circumstances  in 
which  the  Christian,  in  view  of  the  ordinary  term 
of  human   life,  may  innocently   say,   and   with 
earnest   emphasis,    ^^I  would   not  live   always." 
The  afflictions  of  this  world ;  all  forms  of  suffer- 
ing and  privation  and  toil  are  such  circumstances. 
Although  they  afford  no  sufficient  excuse  for  impa- 
^  tience  and  restlessness  under  the  burden  of  life, 
still,  in  the  light  in  which  we  are  now  viewing 
the  subject,  they  do  furnish  a  strong  reason  why 
the  Christian  may  use  these  words.  True,  ^^  chast- 
ening afterward  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of 
righteousness;"  true,  "Our  light  affliction  which 
is  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory  f  true,  "  the 

26* 


306  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to 
be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  re- 
vealed in  us/'  but  these  very  consolations  all  point 
to  another  and  a  better  world,  and  thus  furnish  a 
reason  why  we  should  not  wish  to  linger  for  ever 
in  this.  Separated  from  their  grand,  eternal  re- 
sults, and  perpetuated  here,  they  would  become  an 
intolerable  burden.  Linked,  as  they  are,  with 
those  results,  they  direct  our  loftiest  aspirations  to 
the  world  of  perfect  bliss,  and  thus  in  either  view, 
on  the  one  hand  repelling,  and  on  the  other  at- 
tracting, they  prompt  us  to  say,  ^^I  would  not  live 
always." 

We  have  reason  to  desire  not  only  deliverance 
from  the  ills  of  this  life,  but  the  actual  possessioij 
of  far  greater  good  than  this  world  can  afford. 
Heaven  is  before  us.  Who,  then,  would  desire  to 
live  always  upon  earth?  The  crown  is  before  us; 
who,  then,  would  desire  to  bear  the  cross  for  ever? 
The  palm  of  victory  is  before  us;  who,  then, 
would  wish  the  conflict  to  be  everlasting?  The 
prize  of  our  high  calling  is  held  up  in  view ;  who. 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  307 

then,  would  wish  to  run  for  ever  in  the  earthly 
race?  Live  always  among  the  shadows  of  this 
world,  with  the  unclouded  glories  of  heaven  re- 
ceding in  the  prospect !  Live  always  with  the 
stains  and  corruption  of  sin  cleaving  to  us,  and 
forego  the  purity  of  the  sanctified !  Live  always 
this  dying  life,  while  we  catch  but  the  echoes  of 
those  songs  which  break  forth  from  the  sons  of  a 
blissful  immortality  above!  Live  always  this 
lonely  life,  away  from  God ;  away  from  our  ran- 
somed friends,  who  have  gone  to  glory;  away 
from  the  Saviour  whose  presence  irradiates  the 
city  of  God ! 

Ah,  no,  to  depart,  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ 
is  far  better.  The  contrast  is  too  great  to  leave 
us  indifferent.  We  would  not  live  always.  But 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  here  that  the  deliberate 
and  the  honest  expression  of  this  preference  can 
spring  only  from  a  well-grounded  and  satisfactory 
hope  of  a  happy  immortality.  It  were  better  to 
continue  a  tired  pilgrim  journeying  on  for  ever, 
than  to  hasten  to  the  door  of  our  Father's  house 


308  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

and  be  met  there  by  a  stern  rebuke  and  denial, 
and  the  decree  of  everlasting  banishment.  It 
were  better  to  retain  this  world,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, with  all  its  sorrows,  than  to  leave  it,  and  then 
fail  of  heaven.  It  were  better  to  live  always 
even  here,  than  to  die  always  in  hell.  With  the 
fear  of  such  an  alternative ;  with  the  apprehension 
of  such  an  exchange,  we  cannot  sincerely  wish 
not  to  live  always.  Just  in  proportion  as  our 
faith  wavers  and  our  fears  gather  strength  and 
prevail  we  shall  be  less  disposed  to  use  this  lan- 
guage. We  may  properly  say,  "  I  would  not  live 
always,"  when  we  thereby  express  a  willingness 
to  leave  this  vale  of  tears  as  soon  as  the  sweet 
voice  of  heaven  shall  call  us  to  the  scenes  above; 
or  as  an  expression  of  rejoicing  that  this  is  not 
our  everlasting  home;  but  we  may  not  employ 
such  words  in  a  spirit  of  complaint  that  we  are 
obliged  to  live  at  all  in  this  stormy  world.  On 
the  contrary,  we  should  be  ready  to  say  even  in 
the  saddest  hour  as  Job  said,  at  a  time  of  calm 
resignation,  "  All  the  days  of  ffiy  appointed  time 


TBB  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  309 

will  I  wait  until  my  change  come/^  O,  then  let 
us  "give  all  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and 
election  sure/^  Let  us  labordiligently  and  prayer- 
fully to  gain  the  full  assurance  of  faith,  such  a 
confidence  in  the  Saviour  that  we  need  not  fear 
to  die. 

¥v^e  cannot  live  always  if  we  would.  We  may 
express  a  cordial  and  perfect  acquiescence  in  the 
decree  of  God,  but  in  no  other  sense  is  it  really  a 
matter  of  choice,  after  all.  "  There  is  no  man 
that  hath  power  over  the  spirit  to  retain  the  spirit, 
neither  hath  he  power  in  the  day  of  death ;  and 
there  is  no  discharge  in  that  war.'^  No  truth  is 
more  certain,  none  more  momentous,  and  yet  none 
perhaps  is  less  appreciated.  Multitudes  live  as 
though  they  were  never  to  die ;  and  they  die,  at 
last,  with  the  bitter,  burning  wish  that  they  had 
never  lived.  We  need  something  frequently  to 
startle  us  into  the  practical  conviction  of  our  mor- 
tality. It  is  related  of  Philip  of  Macedon,  that 
he  kept  one  servant  whose  business  it  was  to  come 
into  his  room  every  morning  and  solemnly  re- 


310  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

peat  these  words, — "  Remember,  Philip,  thou  art 
mortah"     That  was  a  mark  of  wisdom,  and  it 
doubtless  produced  an  effect ;  still  it  soon  became 
a  familiar  story,  and  doubtless  lost  much  of  its 
power.     Ever  and  anon  the  messenger  of  death 
comes  into  the  midst  of  us  and  strikes  down  a 
relative,   or  friend,   or   acquaintance,  and  as  he 
passes  along  he  whispers  to  each  of  us,  ^'  Remem- 
ber thou  too  art  mortal,"  but  we  go  to   bury  the 
dead  and  return  with  little  more  of  salutary  medi- 
tation than  may  be  prompted  by  the  thought  that 
all  men  are  mortal  but  ourselves.     Different  and 
less   frequent  occurrences,  bringing  similar  sug- 
gestions,  may   be   more   effective.     There  is  no 
event,  perhaps,  better  adapted  to  this  end,  than 
the  closing  of  one  year,  and  the  beginning  of  an- 
other.    Our  life  is  limited ;  its  end  is  appointed. 
In  that  respect  we  are  like  criminals  in  prison 
awaiting  their  execution,  only  we  know  not  when 
that  appointed  time  will  come;  our  years  are  like 
their  hours. 

Again   the   great   clock    of   time   is   striking. 


THE  FUTURE  SATISFACTION.  311 

Listen  to  it;  this  may  be  the  last.     The  summons 
may  be  on  its  way.     At  most  but  few  such  hours 
can  be  left ;  at  all  events  there  is  now  one  less  to 
come  than  when  we  last  recorded  the  number. 
We  shall  soon  hear  the  footsteps  of  the  messenger. 
We  cannot  live   always ;   we   may  not  live   an- 
other year.     Are  we  prepared  to  die  ?     Ah,  it  is 
the  mournful  answer  to  this  question,  that  forbids 
the  ungodly  to  use  the  words  of  the  text.     They 
dare  not  sincerely  repeat  them,  unless  it  be  under 
the  spell  of  some  desperate  indifference.     Go  stand 
by  the  bed  of  the  dying,  and  see  the  light  of  life 
flickering  and  going  out,  and  the  feverish   flush 
fading  into  the  pallor  of  death,  and  think  of  the 
spirit  on  its  rapid,  trackless  flight  to  the  judgment 
throne,  and  say,  if  you  can,  ''  I  would  not  live  al- 
ways."    Go,  stand  in  the  silent  graveyard  and 
think  of  the  great  white  throne,  and  think  of  the 
books  that  shall   be   opened,   and  think   of  the 
words  that  will  be  spoken,  and  think  of  the  door 
that  will  be  shut,  and  think  of  ih^  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever,  and  say,  if  you  can,  "  I  would 


312  KIRKPATRICK  MEMORIAL. 

not  live  always !"  And  yet,  if  you  repent  not, 
the  time  will  come,  when  these  words  will  spring 
up  irrepressibly  from  the  depth  of  your  tortured 
soul ;  for  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  in  those  days 
men  shall  seek  death  and  shall  not  find  it ;  and 
shall  desire  to  die,  and  death  shall  flee  from  them.'^ 
Did  you  ever  see  a  poor  man  dying  reluctantly, 
gathering  all  his  failing  strength  and  wrestling 
and  struggling  with  the  last  enemy,  declaring  in 
agony,  he  would  not  die?  feebly  defying  the  ir- 
resistible relentless  monster.  .  .  .  Oh,  it  is  a  fear- 
ful sight,  the  conflict  of  life  and  death  !  .  .  . 


THE   END. 


DATE  DUE 


